Spirraling
by Mitigwakii
Summary: It's Rinoa he wants and he will hunt her down, even if he has to kill every single person in his way. Little does the gang know about this, but Squall will give his life to protect Rinoa and fight until he can no more. Please R&R Squinoa, Seiftis
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:**

After defeating Ultemecia, the world seems at peace. But not everything is what it seems! The gang is forced into another battle blinded... In this war, the gang fights side by side, leaving behind all past resents. Thus, new feelings blossom towards one another, some inexplicable, others impossible. But it's a hard life these children live and hard times they're going through. That's why love sometimes must be put aside... This is how they make it through...

ººº "Nothing is was it seems to be...love can be found in the oddest of ways..." ººº

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****Disclaimer: **Final Fantasy VIII is copyright of SquareSoft. No infringment is intended. 

**A/N:** This is my first Fan Fiction about Final Fantasy VIII and I would really appreciate if you guys read it and told me what you thought. Just one thing: don't be harsh on me, ok? ;) I've really tried to stick to all the characters original personalities

And if you happen to find any sort of spelling mistakes or ridiculous grammar mistakes, please warn me. I'm portuguese and I'm not too used to writting in english (though I speak fluently), so please excuse me for anything embarrasing.

I really hope you like reading this continuation as much as I enjoy writing it...

Enjoy...

Mitigwakii

(you'll recognize this part, don't worry – that's if you have finished the whole game! Now if you haven't, turn this page off and switch the game on and START PLAYING!)

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**Shattered Peace** _

**Part 1: **

_This scene takes place at Balamb Garden, at the party celebration for defeating the Sorceress from the future, Ultimecia._

The deep dark blue sky, filled with the brightest of stars that would shine gracefully, hung over the love of a girl for the man of her dreams.

Balamb Garden was floating above the sea making its smooth way towards the unreachable horizon. The sea would whisper softly its peaceful words to the Garden, while the cool and aromatic wind would brush Rinoa's soft and silky dark hair out of her sad face. She was standing on the beautiful stone balcony that would make its way out of the Ballroom through two large open doors. She just stood there holding the balustrade facing the sea and staring into the sky, as if she awaited something to happen...

'Nothing...' she said hopelessly under her breath.

'How can it be?' she asked the sky with a sad tone in her voice.

She wanted to know if Squall would ever come back to her, if she would ever hear his voice again, if she would ever feel his arms around her again, if she would ever sense his smell again and if she'd ever see him smile.

She believed what her mother had told her, that the sky knew everything, that it would send her a signal to help her find happiness, and that signal had appeared the night she met Squall, in fact it was what started everything between them...

She longed to be with Squall, she was cold and wanted him there, to hold her and protect her from the cold and the darkness. She felt like she couldn't live without him by her side, she needed him desperately, without him her life made no sense at all. She loved him with all her heart.

'Where are you!' she yelled impatiently at the sky as she clapped her hands furiously on the balustrade. No one in the Ballroom heard her due to the loud music everyone was dancing to, not even the sky...

'You see no happiness for me!...Is it that!' she questioned the sky sadly as tears formed in her eyes, making her vision blur.

'Why then?...Why did you send me that star? Remember? That star that I and Squall saw when we met! WHY? 'She interrogated the sky, raising her voice a bit, now even more heart broken than ever, as her eyes flooded with tears that would drop into the silent sea.

'I won't let you tear us apart! Never! Do you hear? Never!' she yelled in disbelief to the sky, whipping her tears away violently...

She stood silently leaning against the balustrade gazing into the sea, still sobbing... 'Never...' she thought.

'Rinoa!' yelled Squall as he heard his own words eco in the desert landscape and looked around desperately.

He walked as far as the horizon let him, getting weaker and loosing his balance all the time...he couldn't walk anymore, he was dragging his feet, which felt as though they were getting heavier and heavier...

'Zell! Quistis!...Irvine! Selphie! ' he called out with all the strength he had left...in vain...

His feet where sore and heavy, he couldn't drag himself any longer, he was exhausted...

Squall lost all the strength in his legs and dropped to the ground.

He sat there in the middle of nowhere, staring at the ground hopeless and confused, not knowing what to do anymore...

'I'm all alone...again...' he thought as he sighted.

'Why?' he questioned hopelessly under his breath...

Suddenly, out of nowhere a huge gush of warm wind hit his face, blowing his hair out of his tired face and comforting him in a way he had never felt...then it started fading away slowly...

He looked up at the sky hoping he would see the cause of that wonderful sensation, and finally spotted a tiny white dot above him...it was coming down, making it's way towards him, slowly but surely...

It was a pearly white, soft and delicate feather which paused right in the middle of his hand covered in his leather black glove...

'Rinoa...' he whispered weakly...

'...Where are you?' he thought as he closed his hand slowly and shut his eyes, wishing she would appear...

The gush of wind started again...this time much stronger than before...the wind was cold and a great bright, white light shined down on him, so bright the moment he looked up and opened his eyes to see what happened, he hurt himself and was forced to shut them. It was too painful...

Finally it stopped, the wind stopped blowing violently, but Squall was still feeling cold, he was shivering with his eyes shut tightly, while he sat on the cold stony ground...

He had no idea what had happened...but forced himself to open his eyes...

As he opened them slowly, he saw the most beautiful sight ever, the one he longed to see, the one he had hoped to see, and now...he was there ...he suddenly felt warm inside and relieved.

He stood up and looked around... he was standing in the middle of a beautiful field full of colourful flowers and the sun was setting gracefully, letting great orange rays of sunlight lit and warm up the whole field...it was wonderful...

'...Rinoa...' Squall thought as he scoured around quickly and desperately...

'...I'm here, Rinoa...!' he shouted out hoping to see her.

'I'm here like I promised!' he said still looking around and hoping to see her...

He turned around once more...there she was...

'Rinoa!' he said as he stood many feet away from her...

Squall wanted to run to her and hold her, but before he could take any other step, his whole vision went black, he couldn't see anything but darkness... he was blind...

His mind started rewinding and all he could hear was a stir of voices, music and machines... the day at the ballroom where he first saw Rinoa, she was beautiful in her pearl coloured dress, her beautiful dark raven and her loving dark eyes... she was pointing to the sky. That memory replayed itself over and over, it was noisy, it was too loud...Squall's head ached ...he couldn't take it... it was too painful...

'Stop!' he thought...'Stop it!'... 'NOOOOOOOOOOOO! '

Squall couldn't take it. He lost all the strength in his legs, collapsed onto the ground and slowly slipped into unconsciousness...

Rinoa continued gazing into the sea...'Squall...' she thought.

'You were so cold when I found you...I need to hear your voice again...please...come to me...' she spoke to the sea, hoping Squall could hear her...somehow...

'...I need you...' she whispered as more tears would form in her eyes...

'...don't leave me...' she cried petrified under her breath...

'NOOO! ' Squall yelled as he sat up quickly in the bed...His heart was beating faster than ever and he was breathing in deeply, struggling for air as little drops of sweat rolled down his terrified scarred face...

'...where...where am I...' he asked himself as he sat in the darkened room, only the moonlight lit the foot end of the bed...

When finally he realised he was in the Infirmary...'Rinoa?' he called, with a joyful tone to his voice, hoping she would be there...

He got up and tried to stand up, he was very weak and could hardly stand on his feat. Squall took a few steps and forced himself to walk towards the exit door, using the table and chairs as support.

Walking slowly down the corridor he went, and started walking faster once he saw nobody around him, this really made him panic...then it struck him: '...that music...the...the ballroom...' he gasped.

Soon he started running, losing his balance on a few occasions but doing his best...

Finally he reached the Ballroom's giant doors, he walked through the doors and saw everyone dancing and laughing...

He saw Zell stuffing his face with Hotdogs while the girl with pig tails tried to talk to him and Quistis, Cid and Matron talking excitedly to one another, throwing a few giggles now and then, while Selphie and Irvine fought over the video camera (none of them saw him)...but where was Rinoa?

He looked and turned around trying to spot her, while people came rushing by him and danced around him, making him confused and dizzy...

He turned around and faced the doors leading to the stone balcony and saw Rinoa through them, with her back faced to him he could see clearly the wings stamped on her back...'my angel...' he whispered...

He walked slowly towards her, trying not to be seen or heard...

He reached the balcony and stood at the door...she was leaning against the balustrade gazing into the sea as usual...

On that moment he his heart filled with joy and happiness...he couldn't tell what he was feeling, he only knew he had to put his arms around her and wanted to tell her how much he feared never to see her again...how much she meant to him...

'...Rinoa...' he said weakly as he supported himself on the stone wall near the balustrade.

As Rinoa heard him call her she opened her eyes whipped away her tears, turned around and ...'Squall?' she said in disbelief looking at him in his weak state...

At that moment Rinoa felt as if the moon, the stars and the sea had heard her...She knew deep down that Squall would never leave her, but feared everything...She knew she couldn't predict the future...nobody could...But at that moment she felt that her heart had never been happier and nothing could ruin that feeling...

She gave him a sweat smile, ran up to him and through herself emotively at his neck, hugging him tightly and leaning her head on his chest, where she could hear his heart beating...he was alive and had his arms around her...

Squall couldn't believe it, he put his arms around her and kissed her head as he leaned his head on hers lovingly.

They wanted to stay like that forever...They couldn't think of anything else but how much they loved each other...that moment was very special...

'Oh, Squall! Is it really you!' she asked in disbelief now smiling as tears ran down her pale face.

'...Yeah, I guess so...' winced Squall still struggling to speak , but smiling lightly...

Rinoa parted from the hug and held his hand, placing it on her heart.

'I'm so happy to see you...' she gasped with joy, while she whipped her tears away with her arm.

Squall just stood there, gazing into her eyes while he thought 'I just couldn't leave you, I just couldn't...'

'...You were so cold when I found you, Squall...I tried to wake you up...but you were so cold...I thought I'd never hear your voice again or hug you again...I was scared Squall! Really, really scared!...' she winced anxiously while more tears came down her rosy cheeks, giving him another tight hug, fearing he would just disappear again...

Squall held her arms and placed his head right next to hers, looked her in the eyes and said :

'I'd never leave you Rinoa, you are too precious to me...I'd never leave...I...I just couldn't...I'll never leave you...I promise...I'm right here...' he said still looking into her eyes reassuringly and shaking her slightly as he spoke, reassuring her that he was there for her, for always...

'...so don't you cry...I'm right here... with you...' he whispered at her, whipping her tears away gently with his thumb.

To this only a lovable smile could express was she felt. She held his hand, kissed it and pulled him towards the balcony as she looked at him with so much trust...

'The sky...'she said as she gazed at it with a smile on her face.

Squall felt so happy that moment, he like holding her and actually kissing her, but he was so thrilled he didn't want to frighten her with his excitment...

'Squall...' she said pointing at the sky, still grinning...

Squall looked up and saw a star shinning so bright while it made its way, shooting across the beautiful darkened sky...

'It's Our star...' he said dreamily as he gazed at it, remembering that special night in the Ballroom, where everything started, forming the most beautiful sweet smile as he looked back at Rinoa...

Rinoa smiled back and couldn't help noticing how cute he looked while he was smiling, staring at his lips and feeling a huge need too kiss them...

Squall felt the same; he loved Rinoa with all his heart and loved her beautiful sweet, loving smile.

Before anyone could say anything, Squall had reached for Rinoa's hand, grabbed her waist slowly, held her very close to him, looked at her tenderly, feeling her wonderful smell, the warmth of her touch, the love in her eyes...it was all so right...it was meant to be... and finally their lips touched...

Rinoa loved the way he held her so close to him, she felt safe and warm, protected in his arms as if they were the unbreakable fortress that held her in safely...

Their kiss was perfect, sweet and warm. They kissed each other slowly, with no rush, enjoying each slight move their soft and warm lips would make, closing their eyes slowly...

Squall just embraced her warmly, holding her head softly and gently, caressing her beautiful face and her silky hair as he kissed her, not wanting ever to stop...

But the need to breathe was in their way...they parted sadly, still pecking each other now and then, not being able to help themselves, missing each other kiss every second...

Squall had the happiest look in his stunning sea blue eyes, but felt very shy and couldn't help blushing... Rinoa on the other hand, was smiling at him with all the love she had... He loved her smile, it was so sweet, loving and true...so beautiful... she looked like an angel...

Squall forced a serious look on his face and started...'I...I...'

'Who needs words, Squall?' Rinoa said softly making him feel more at ease at that moment as she gently put her silky arms his neck, hugging him tenderly, resting her head on his strong built chest and closing her eyes, enjoying every beat of his heart...

'I wish this was forever...' she said dreamily now closing her eyes...

'Tell me this isn't a dream, Squall...'she gasped worried.

In response, trying to reassure her that everything was pretty real, he let go of her in order to look at her, holding her waist and pulling her face gently close to his...

'...if this was a dream, you would have never felt my arms around you, the tears on your face or worse, my kiss...' he smiled sweetly at her, reaching his face a little closer to hers and kissing her lips tenderly, forcing her to kiss him too...

'...you felt that, right?' he asked charmingly...

She nodded.

'Besides that, if it were a dream, I would have never let it end...' he smiled at her. Squall winked his eye and kissed her on her rosy cheek, still damp from all the crying.

He embraced her once more...'I love you, Rinoa...' he whispered in her ear, closed his eyes and kissed her neck instinctively...

'Oh, Squall...' Rinoa feebled surprised 'I've been waiting to hear that since we first met... I always wanted to tell you...I love you too... Squall ...I love you...' Squall smiled and closed his eyes as he enjoyed feeling Rinoa's smell and her warm arms around him. Rinoa once more started crying, this time tears of joy...tears of happiness...

She could feel his strong heart beat, he was there, he was alive and he was with her...it wasn't a dream, it was real...and she wanted to stay like that forever...

They spent the whole night clanged on each other, dancing slowly as Rinoa leaned her head on Squall's shoulder as he gazed way up into the sky with his faced leaned against her soft hair, not resisting to kiss it all the time...

Finally the fire works started...the whole sky was lit with green, yellow, red and purple lights that would lit the garden as well, making everyone scream ,laugh and jump of joy and happiness. Everyone in garden was happy; everyone had a smile on their face...

This was certainly the best day of Squall and Rinoa's lives...

**To be continued...**

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_And that's chapter one. Hope you liked it. Please go on reading! Review please._

_Thank u so much for reading! Thank u so much!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2: **

After the amazing fire works, the party came to its end. Squall and Rinoa had been the whole time on the balcony, in their endless dance of love, gazing at the stars, at gigantic full moon that hung over the sky as if it watched carefully the two teenagers...

It was past midnight when the party ended and Squall and Rinoa where the last ones to walk out of the ballroom...

'I wish the party could go on all night 'till the sunrise...' said Rinoa in a disappointed tone of voice.

'...don't worry, we'll have many more moments of these...if that's up to me...' he said as he smiled and kissed her forehead compensatively...

They head to the dorms together; both very embraced to one another, his arm around her shoulder, keeping her warm, and her arm around his waist...

They walked slowly, trying to extend the night as far as possible...

When finally they reached the dorms, they had to split up.

'..I'll miss you, Squall...' Rinoa said softly as she gave a puppy look to Squall.

'I'll miss you too...tell you what!...I'll see you in your dreams...look for me, ok?' he asked her giving her a sweet peck on her cheek as they both stood in the dormitory common room...

'I will...see you then...' she replied giving him a wink and a cute smile, walking into her room and shutting the door softly...

Squall stood alone in the room, still staring at her door. After a few moments of rehearing what she said numbers of times, with her voice echoing in his head, he smiled pleasantly and made his way to his own room as well...

They both feel onto their beds, stared at the ceiling until as their minds pictured each other until their eyes were painfully tired and hardly could stand open, falling asleep with smiles on their faces...

The next day...

While wind hit the curtains that covered the windows of the dorms, a sweet smell of a beautiful spring morning would fill the whole facility. The sweet aroma of peace had filled the air once more...at least it felt like so...

Balamb Garden as beautiful as it always was had been travelling all night through the peaceful, silent sea. In the morning it had reached a beach side near Balamb city...

The sun brought in the dorms its warmth and light, cheering up everyone's soul's right from the very morning...

The soft wind touched Squall's sleepy, swelled face as he opened his stunning eyes slowly.

When he sat up in his bed peacefully and realized he was still home and that had happened the night before had not been a dream, a huge smile came across his face. He got up quickly and eagerly, took a shower, ran up to Rinoa's dormitory room and waited.

'Squall?' Selphie walked up to him with a usual cute surprised smile on her face.

'You're ok?' she yelled all thrilled.

'Yeah...' he answered scratching his head, hoping she would not notice he was waiting for Rinoa, in case she made a scene...

'That's just great!' she grinned sweetly at him, patting his face caringly, skipping away happily afterwards.

Squall waited a few more minutes and started to worry, so knocked on the door 'Rinoa?' he asked in his serious worried tone of voice.

Suddenly he felt and hand on his shoulder and jumped.

'I-I thought you were still in there so I...I...' he started all serious, but couldn't resist that beautiful smile...grabbed her face with both hands, grinning and kissed her passionately...

'Woooooooooo!' went the whole corridor as they parted.

Squall blushed, looked down, kept the serious look on his face and walked away quickly dragging Rinoa behind who giggled softly as the other girls that winked at her...

Holding hands they walked slowly heading to the cafeteria.

'Squall?' Rinoa said gently.

'Yeah?' he pulled her closer to him, kissing her head lovingly.

'Do you think there'll be no more wars from now on?...I mean...Ultemecia...she's gone...do you think anyone else will come to take her place...?' she asked worried looking up at him...

'Well, I can't really tell, Rin...the way things have been going on...maybe not... but, I don't know, there are always conflicts between men and power...it's power all men seek and that's what generates all wars...at least that's what I think...but...as you told me before...and I genuinely agree...no one can predict the future...we can only hope to find peace and fight for it...' he answered trying not to sound too negative.

'I'm scared...' she said cuddling into his embrace.

'Don't think about that...don't be scared, I'll always be there for you...right by your side...you know I would never let anything happen to you, right?...besides if anything happens one day...anything at all I think of something...I'll do my best to be with you all the time...' he said once more in the most delicate and reassuring tone.

'I love you...' she answered back while she gazed at him in amazement...

So they walked into the cafeteria and walked into Zell who was standing in the end of the line as usual praying for hotdogs to still exist...

'Yo! Squall! My man! I see you up and ready ...and smotchy wooshy too! Ha!' he yelled so all the gang could hear, laughing and choking at the same time...

'I'm kiddin'! Go sit down, you guys! I'll order for ya! I've got SPECIAL CUPPONS and I'm feeling generous!' he offered smiling and saying the last words loud and clear for everyone to hear...

'Thanks Zell...' thanked Squall as he walked to one of the tables.

'You're too kind...'sneared Rinoa as she pulled her tong out...

'Hi!' said Quistis zombie like as she kept her eyes off Squall and Rinoa, pulling a chair and sitting down next to them...

'So, I've heard the news...' she said trying to force a smile on her face...

'What news?' asked Squall frowning as he crossed his arms, looking quite surprised.

Rinoa punched him slightly with her elbow, trying to make him understand.

'C'mon Squall, you should know that better than all of us...' Quistis replied unfriendly...

'Oh...yeah...of course...' he remembered now smiling at Rinoa as she pulled her chair closer tyo his and gave him a sweet peck on the cheek...

'Yo Squall! Getting hungry? I've come to save yall!' said Zell proud of himself already licking his lips in greed...

'Oh! Quisty! I never brought you any...there's no more by now...' he said as he slapped his hand on his forehead...

'Dammit! Here... you can have mine!' he gasped as he slid his hot dog in Quistis direction...

'It's ok Zell...I don't want...I feel sick...' she grunted angrily as she got up from her chair violently and walked out of the cafeteria in a flash...

'Geeezz! What's got into her? Stressed missy!' said Zell surprised as he looked at her walk out furiously.

'Oh..well...'he said looking at the hotdog, 'I guess you're mine again...' and grabbed the hotdog and took a great bite out of it spilling ketchup on Squall's nose...

'Thanks a lot, Zell...' spat out Squall whipping his nose furiously with his hand, forgetting to take off hs glove...'Oh...great!' he mumbled...

Squall messed ketchup all over his gloves...and his face...Zell snorted loudly as he a whole load of laughter came out as he guzzled his hotdog...Irvine who had just arrived at the table sitting down and having a laughter fit just like Zell...

'You messy little baby!' chuckled Rinoa as she looked at Zell as she controlled her giggles.

'...I guess, I look better this way, eh...?' said Squall humorously as he crossed his arms and smiled at everyone...

'...darling, you'll always look gorgeous ...with ketchup even better...' Rinoa explained as she smiled and kissed him.

'...I'll just go and change...' said Squall as he sighted impatiently and got up from his chair.

'..Poor baby! How could you laugh at him? You MEANNIES! 'She said impressed at Irvine and Zell's attitude and pulled her tong at them playfully as she followed Squall...

'...YEAH BABY! Two more hotdogs for me!' shouted out Zell still smiling, now staring at Squall and Rinoa's hotdogs.

'You just can't help yourself, can you Zell...' said Irvine laughing at Zell's sad picture.

'By the way, have you seen Selphie?'

'Nah...' said Zell with his mouth full.

'Guess I'll drop by the Quad, then...See ya!' said Irvine getting up from his chair and walked away, leaving Zell on his own.

While concentrating on eating his hotdogs Zell , couldn't think of anything else and was ignoring everyone around him, until...

'Hi!' said a lively girl's voice from behind him, frightening him and causing him to choke...

'Heeey! You alright there? Sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you!' said the anxious girl now patting him on his back, while everybody stared at them...

After minutes of coughing and choking, finally Zell was able to talk...

'Ya frightened me there for a while, eh?' he smiled enchanted with her pretty face.

'I'm so sorry, Zell! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I reall...

'Don' worry 'bout it, girl! He grumbled staring in her eyes and appreciating the view...

'So, what do you want, Moha?' asked Zell curiously with his mouth full of mustard, still smiling.

'Oh...' started the girl with pigtails, while she reached out to clean his mouth, Zell went purple...' well, I just wanted to warn you that the Library has a whole new collection of books...It's called 'The perfect fight'. You see it's about a very brave man called Vashim, a great ancient fighter...who...well, just read it, I'm sure you'll like it ...' she said now turning around and making a sign to one of her friends that were already leaving.

'Oh...yeah...sure...I...I'll read it. If you say tha...' and before Zell could finish what he was saying, she interrupted him 'Oh, Zell I have to go now...I'm late...see you later then...' she said in hurry kissing his cheek (to be honest, it was more the corner of his mouth) and rushing out of the cafeteria.

Zell went red in the face and was very glad that he was now the only one in the cafeteria, after what had happened to him, he was sure if any of his class mates had been there, he would be the joke of the month.

'Man, she's pretty...whoa...Zell...hold on there! You can't like her...remember your dream...grandpa...I wanna be just like him...oh, what the heck! If I like her, there's nothing I can do!...and if the girl likes me, there's even more reasons why I should follow my...whoa this is getting too cheesy for me... ' he thought to himself staring at his hotdogs, not feeling like eating them anymore. Zell got up and left the table, heading to the dorms, where he expected everyone to be...

Zell thought about Moha all the way. He had been in love with Moha the whole time. After what happened that morning, Zell was sure she had feelings for him, too. He had been waiting for a similar moment since they had met (unconsciously of course). He was sure now he really liked her and now only had in mind one thing: finding out if she liked him too.

As Squall reached the dorms, Rinoa ran up to him.

'Hi, Squall...' she said softly and Squall turned around.

'Following me, are you?' he said as he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her.

'Yuk, Squall! You messed on me!' she yelled laughing in amazement.

'Sorry, couldn't help myself...! Come here...you deserve it anyway...c'mon...' he reached out for her as she took a step back...

'Oh yeah!' Rinoa said softly looking him in the eyes and smiling demonically.

'Yeah...' said Squall simply...

'Well, then how 'bout this...' Rinoa waved her hand elegantly as a flash of pink light came out of the tip of her finger and hit Squall.

'Uh...' Squall was hit by the powerful light and was forced to take a step back.

As soon as the light was gone, Rinoa started stared at Squall for a few moments, holding her mouth in shock, giggling very loud and pointing at Squall's feet...

'Rin...' started Squall as he looked at his feet, mouth opened...

Squall's feet were covered in mustard and ketchup; in fact his toes looked like sausages.

'What the...?' said Squall in shock.

'Mr. Hotdog Foot!' said Rinoa all giggly as she put her arms around Squall.

'Rin, h-how did you do that!' asked Squall all puzzled...

'Does sorceress mean anything to you, Mustard-man?' asked Rinoa grinning with mischief.

'Kind of...but...but you already know how to use your powers? How come?'

'Well, actually this was the first time I've ever used them...not bad, huh?'

'But how?...I mean...' Squall started.

'I just pictured you like that...and... and it happened! I don't really understand. I was just playing when I waved my hand...I don't know...' Rinoa frowned a little puzzled.

'Wow! Rinoa, that's great!' Squall said all happy and hugged her congratulating her.

'Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht, Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmitt and Quistis Trepe please head to the bridge immediately' said Xu through the Intercom.

'What now!' said Squall impatiently for having to leave Rinoa .'Have to go, Rin...' said Squall to Rinoa as he kissed her forehead and gave her a loving look.

Squall walked across the dormitory's floor leaving yellow marks behind him and shut the door.

A second later Squall came back in running towards the bathroom, but Rinoa grabbed his arm.

'Oh! I'm sorry, Squall! I forgot! Stay there! Don't move!' she stopped him with her hand.

'What you...' Squall started and before he could even breathe, Rinoa had let a very bright blue light out of her finger, causing Squall to shut his eyes and step back as the light hit him.

'There... Go! Quick!' she shouted out nervously as she kissed him, pushing him towards the door in a hurry.

'Go! Go! Go! Love you!' everything was so quick that Squall was still a little disorientated. He shut the door and ran all the way to the elevator.

'Yo, Squall! Wait up, man...' shouted out Zell running after him.

They went up the elevator and reached the bridge where Quistis, Selphie, Irvine, Nida, Xu and Headmaster Cid where all waiting and staring at them.

'What took you so long guys?' pouted Quistis '...Didn't you hear: "Immediately!"

'I'm sorry, I had a slight problem down there' said Squall in a serious tone of voice, trying to stop himself from smiling to the thought of what Rinoa had done to him and her beautiful loving smile.

'Me too!' Zell snapped right after Squall, trying to use his excuse. The truth was that he had been following Moha and trying to find out between her conversations with her friends if she liked him (in vain), to the point of getting stuck under her bed, having to wait for them to leave.

'We'll talk about that later, then.' said Quistis once more as she gave them a scolding look.

'So, why did you call us?' asked Selphie in her naïve tone of voice.

Headmaster Cid, turned around turning his back to them and started:

'It seems like SeeD will have to take action once again.' He stated seriously.

'Rinoa won't be too happy if she hears this. She'll be so sad...' thought Squall.

'Oh nooo!' cried out Selphie as she fell to the floor and tears came running down her eyes.

'Not again! I thought we had finally had peace!' she said heart broken.

'Selphie! We're SeeDs! You should be prepared to face anything! You can't back out now!' said Quistis all annoyed with her attitude.

'I know and I'm willing to fight! I just wanted the world to be at peace! Just once! Didn't you? I mean we just got rid of Ultimecia! I thought it would take some time until some other jerk came along!' cried out Selphie banging her hands on the floor as she spoke.

'Oh, Selphie...Don't worry... what ever comes along will get rid of it! We fought Ultimecia, right? After what happened...I'm sure we are able to take on the world and much, much more!' said Irvine positively as he helped her up and embraced her.

'I'm sick of war, but I'll fight! I'll fight for peace...' Selphie went on as she sobbed in Irvine's arms.

'We all are...' Irvine said as he looked down bleakly.

'I'm sorry Headmaster, please go on...' said Quistis.

'SeeD has work to do...It's Win Hill...You see, we found out that Garden has an emergency communication system and when we tried to use it for the first time, we heard accidentally someone else's report...apparently it's about Win Hill...sounds like they want to take it over...because of it's powerful resources...That's all we know...' said Cid in a low voice and turned around to look at them.

'So, what must we do?' asked Squall.

'...Your mission is to go there and find out what ever you can about whoever's planning to take Win Hill over...if they don't agree to retreat, you are to eliminate them...' said Xu as she looked at each one of them.

'When are we goin?' asked Zell all worried.

'The Garden shall depart when Esthar gives the sign. This journey won't be any simple journey. It will have a number of destinations.' Explained Xu once again.

'But...why? asked Selphie all puzzled.

'It's for safety purposes; we cannot put the Garden in danger or any of our SeeDs or students.' Answered Cid this time.

'...and where are we to go first?' asked Irvine (deeply concentrated).

'Our first stop will be Dollet, there you can buy equipment for the whole journey, and you'll be provided with an extra amount of Gil. There will be a group of Esthar soldiers waiting for you there, you should notice them, they'll be waiting for you at the communication tower's entrance. They shall give you more detailed information about your mission. ' said Cid vigorously.

'Then, Garden shall head to Deling City, there you should find Seifer. We don't know where he's staying but he shouldn't be far. Then...' but before Xu could go on, Zell interrupted...

'What the hell is he doin' there!' asked Zell in shock.

'Deling city has been having some trouble with the monsters from the Chocobo Forests. That's why he's patrolling the city for any monster invasions. We thought that since he doesn't have any vocation to become a SeeD member, as tough and as good he is with his Gunblade, he should be able to keep monsters from entering the city with no problem. So be sure to find him there.' Cid answered.

'As tough...huh!' mumbled Zell in disagreement.

'After finding Seifer he shall accompany you on your journey to Win Hill. Then the Garden shall dispatch you at the Jail, where you'll find the Ragnarok. You'll have to take the Ragnarok to Win Hill, since Garden can't take you any further, due to safety purposes, as I mentioned before. As soon as you arrive your mission shall begin.' Continued Xu.

'Any order to retreat is most important. Remember that your obedience can save the Garden from being the enemy's target. If there is any sudden change of plans, we'll send you a messenger. Stay alert.' Cid underlined.

'Squall is the squad leader. Any order he gives you, you must obey. 'said Cid winking his eye at Squall secretly.

'I hate it when he puts all the responsibilities on me, hate it...' Squall thought.

'Hey, and why must Seifer come with us? He ain't no SeeD! What about Rinoa?' questioned Zell furiously.

'All the decisions made, have the precise objective of not making any wrong moves, avoiding putting Garden in danger. Seifer will be a great help when it comes to fighting the enemy, you'll see. ('Perhaps to cause some chaos', thought Zell) Rinoa, on the other hand, can be a great fighter as well, but isn't as experienced as Seifer and by the way, we've received strict conditions on Rinoa's stay here from her father. So as you can see, we have to avoid at all cost putting her in danger. Besides that, she is now a Sorceress and has a lot to learn about her powers. Matron will take care of that. Just be prepared, any time now we'll get the sign.' Finished Cid.

Squall felt heart broken. How was he going to explain to Rinoa that he had to leave her for some time? He didn't want to think about how she would react to what was going to happen.

'You are dismissed.' Cid finally said.

The comrades walked towards the elevator, entered and kept silent all the way down to the F1 Lobby, until Selphie broke it:

'Why Win Hill?' she asked rhetorically.

'That's what we have to find out...' said Squall absentminded as he stared at the elevator's door.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3:**

They walked out silently and split up.

Selphie and Irvine went to the Quad, Zell and Quistis to the Library and Squall to the dorms, where he hoped Rinoa would be.

As Squall made his way towards the dorms, his mind remained on her.

'I can't leave her…I can't…what am I gonna do...but her father won't permit her to come…I'm gonna have to leave her…leave her…I can't help it…it's for her own safety…maybe it's better that way…How am I gonna tell her?…she's not gonna accept this… 'He thought worriedly.

When he finally reached the dorms, still looking down, he entered Rinoa's room, but she wasn't there. Maybe she had gone to the cafeteria or to the quad with some of her friends. Squall was tired, he had a lot on his mind and had to think of a way to tell her what was happening, without being too harsh…he entered his room, shut the door bleakly and to his surprise, Rinoa was lying down on his bed. She was sleeping peacefully on his bed. She was all curled up on his bed, holding her necklace tightly in one hand. When Squall was called to the bridge she decided she'd wait for him in the dorms. She had a feeling something wasn't normal, she had a feeling Squall was going to be taken away from her again, but tried her best to think positively without anticipating. She didn't want to go anywhere, she just wanted Squall to come as quick as possible. She got so bored and anxious waiting, she decided to go and see Squall's room. She felt closer to him there, next to his possessions. She sat on his bed and waited, looking at his ring that had been carefully attached to her necklace. She felt safe and peaceful there.

Squall was taking very long to come back, at least it felt like so. The minutes felt like hours. Rinoa couldn't help feeling dozy on his bed (it smelled just like him!). She ended up falling asleep on his comfortable bed, involved in his wonderful smell.

'…Rinoa…' he whispered in surprise trying not to wake her up.

Squall approached her, sat on the floor next to the bed and stroked her head as he looked lovingly at her. His eyes shinned when he saw her. Squall loved her peaceful pale, heart-shaped face. She was even more beautiful when she was asleep, with her mouth slightly open he could see her pearly white teeth, she looked so cute. Squall couldn't help himself, stretched his neck out slowly, reached his face towards hers and kissed her soft tender lips as a tear came running down his eyes, falling gently onto the bed. He whipped it away furiously, ashamed of himself.

'I'm sorry…' he whispered to Rinoa as he laid down his head next to her. The moment he laid his head down, his eyelids started to feel quite heavy and his whole body started to get numb.

Squall fell asleep next to her.

Zell had followed Quistis to the Library, as an excuse to see Moha. He knew she spent most of her time there. He had a special feeling he'd find her there and if he found her, he would tell her what was on his mind and probably ask her to be his girlfriend. He spent the whole time picturing himself kissing her, it would bring a cute little smile to his face… When they reached the Library, Zell looked out at a 360º angle for her. Then he reached the other end of the Library and his heart froze…

There she was…so glorious…so happy…so pretty…just that… she wasn't alone…there was a tall, brunette and handsome guy right next to her. She was sitting on his lap. She giggled a lot and was whispering things in his ear teasingly. In response the guy just kissed her passionately, obviously they were…together...they had something…together…Zell's little heart broke as he felt a fast pain strike through his chest and then whole lot of painful energy flowing through his fists…it was a mix of fury and pain…

'…THE HELL!' thought Zell as he stood on the same spot, staring at them with an heart broken look upon his tattooed face.

Zell took a few steps back, continued gazing at that painful picture, then realised he had to get away…somewhere…anywhere else but there…Zell walked out furiously, making a huge gush of wind behind him, rushing brutally in a desperate move to get out there, past other students that would try to walk in the facility, making them stumble and punched the closest pillar he could find on his way out, making a terrible noise. This made everyone come out to see what had happened. Only little stones were left out of the pillar, for the moment he had punched it, the whole pillar had cracked up into a million stones and collapsed onto the ground a few seconds later…

'DAMMIT! YOU SON OF A BITCH!' he yelled as his face turned red, sweaty and furious…

Zell walked very fast not knowing where to go, then started running, he head to the Training Centre.

Poor monsters, they had a tough time with him. Zell had killed almost all the monsters in the training centre. He fought a T-Rexaur and punched the living daylights out of him, the poor animal didn't even get the chance to fight back. Zell had cast several Auras on himself on purpose, just to attack with his Limit Breaks and take out all his fury on the creatures. He yelled loudly as he punched and kicked the creatures, you could here it all the way out of the training centre, making the people that past by look all the time…

Zell kept on swearing at the creatures, yelling impatiently and furiously at them…

After so much punching and kicking Zell did get tired and decided to go for a walk and try and put his mind on something else…

Meanwhile, Quistis head back to her room, where she sat on her bed cleaning her Chain-whip, while thoughts clouded her head. She was thinking about Squall as usual…How would she ever forget about her feelings for him, if he was always so close to her? How? She made herself this question countless times a day. She though of travelling far away, where she could start a new life from fresh, without past shadows hovering upon her all the time…where she could live in the light and never in the shadow again…Thinking of all that brought happiness to her heart, it made her smile, imagining herself being free, carefree and not having to worry of finding bad memories wherever she went…but…something was holding her back…she couldn't leave…she felt she had something here, she'd never find anywhere else…what it was she never knew…she just felt that for now she had to stay, also because she had been called out on a mission and all…

To this, Quistis couldn't help feeling lost, lonely and sad. She didn't know what she had to.

Sometimes she would just wish Rinoa didn't exist. Things would probably be easier, she wouldn't be with Squall all the time and Squall would have most probably liked her. But, she felt selfish to think that way…everyone had the right to be happy, and if Rinoa was Squall's, there was nothing she could do… Since that day, when she danced with Squall, Quistis knew things would never be same. Squall had preferred to dance with a stranger then talk to her. He had been enchanted by her…She still tried to balance things out by calling him to the secret place, but it was useless…

But Quistis couldn't think of Rinoa as her rival. Rinoa had no idea that Quistis had feelings for Squall, at least she hoped not. She didn't think that after what she told the whole group in Trabia Garden, they would think she still liked Squall. She really hoped they had forgotten about it. The thought of having to live with this truth, brought sore tears to her eyes…

She was showing weakness and this made her very mad, that's why she was being so cocky with everyone, it was the only way to camouflage her feelings for Squall and her depression.

'From now on, I'm going to stop thinking about Squall… yes because I'm sure he never thinks about me… I'm going to move on. I'll find someone one day… I hope. Rinoa doesn't deserve for me to destroy their relationship. It's too precious, anyway who am I to decide if Squall should be mine or not. Squall belongs…to Rinoa. And always will…There's nothing I can do about it…nothing…' Quistis thought and looked down as little warm tears formed in her eyes.

'It's so hard…' she winced bleakly.

'I know there is someone for me…somewhere out there…I'll find him one day…and I'll forget about all this emptiness and pain…'

Quistis got up, whipped her tears away, lifted her head up high and walked out her room with a huge smile on her face. She felt much better after that talk with herself. She felt like there was hope again. She knew that she wasn't destined to be alone, and just that was a good reason to feel happy again.

'Squall?...' Rinoa said surprised as she opened her eyes and saw Squall's cute sleeping face next to her's. Squall went on sleeping.

'…I missed you…' she whispered as a smile grew across her tired face. She stroked his head and looked at him peacefully.

A few minutes later, Squall opened his eyes and caught her looking at him. He felt embarrassed.

'I'm...I'm sorry…I …saw you here and I…' but before he could finish Rinoa put her hands on his face and kissed him delicately.

'You're so cute when you're sleeping…' she told him just gazing into his eyes.

'Nothing compared to you, you're an angel…my angel…'Squall said in his shy tone of voice.

And once more their lips met in a love kiss, Squall just pulled himself up on the bed, opened his arms and accepted her softly, closing his arms around her and slowly kissed her.

'Rin…' said Squall as he pulled back from the kiss. He was looking down and a sad look invaded the 'in love' look he had before on his face.

'What's wrong, Squall?' she said very concerned as she tried to make him look in her eyes.

'I love you…' he said softly as he desperately held her hands and looked at her with a sad look on his face, as if it were the last time they were together. He was frowning as usual but he was looking in her eyes.

'Please forgive me, Rinoa…' he gasped softly as he squeezed her hands a little, still looking deeply in her eyes.

'Squall, what's going on? I'm confused… Why must I forgive you?' Rinoa asked very confused.

'I have to leave for a while…on a mission…' he said as his frown disappeared.

'Noooo! Why, Squall? Why? You can't leave me! ' she cried out as she embraced Squall tightly, trying to avoid him from leaving.

'Rin, It's just for a while, I'll be back soon, I promise…if I said I wouldn't leave…It very well means I'm not…but, I'm a SeeD, I can't just let any old jerk destroy our world, can I? I have to fight...fight for peace. You want that, right?'

'…yes…' she mumbled as tears would form in her eyes and started sobbing.

'…I'm going…' she said very determinedly as she whipped her tears away and pulled her hair out of her face.

'…Rin, it's not safe out there, you can't come…remember what your father said?'

'I don't care what my father said! I'm going with you! There's nothing you can do about it…'she spat out now crossing her arms to show authority.

'…Rinoa…you can't! Don't you see? It's too dangerous! If anything happened to you, I'd just…I just couldn't take it…I'd die…Don't you see? I don't want you with me! It's too risky…So, you're not coming, it's settled…you are staying here…even if I have to tie you up…I can't put you in danger…I'd rather kill myself…'

'…Oh...Squall… I'm sorry… I don't want to be difficult; I just can't stand being without you…I need you! How am I …I can't take it…What am I gonna do? I've just found you…I can't let you go now…! I won't take it…I'll go crazy!...' she asked regretting her spoiled attitude, trying to explain what she ment.

'No you won't…you're a Forest Owl…you're independent…you've always made it on your own…you've always been like that…and always will be…I just can't picture you going crazy…I just can't…' he smiled.

'…fine…but are you…like…going to take very long?...I have limits…' she asked panicking…

'Well, Garden is going to dispatch us in Dollet, then Deling City and then at the Jail, so when we travel from place to place, I'll be with you…It's only when they dispatch us at the Jail, we're on our own…we'll have to take the Ragnarok all the way to Win Hill and find out what's happening out there, try and restore the peace…I don't know for how long, but I'll be thinking of you all the time…I promise.'

'I won't think of anything else but you, Squall…I'm serious…' Rinoa told him as she touched his face and smiled reassuringly.

'Hey…I'm not gone yet! So don't cry…I love you…you know that, right?'

Rinoa nodded smiling trying to stop tears from forming in her eyes.

'I love you too, Squall…' she burst out thronging herself at his neck to hug him and kissed his cheek tightly.

'Rinoa…' Squall said now pulling away from her hug and holding her thin wrists and looking into her eyes.

'The Garden is heading to Dollet and I'm not sure about when we'll get there, but if I'm gone when you wake up, promise me you won't cry or do anything stupid, ok?' Squall asked caringly.

'Of course I'll cry! How can I not? I'll miss you!...' Rinoa pouted.

'I won't be there for long, it's just to equip ourselves and talk to some people… It won't take long, I'll be right back as soon as I can, I promise! Besides that, you know that it's very hard for me to leave you knowing that you are soaked in tears…' Squall complained in a playful way, to make her smile.

'…Promise?'

'I promise, but what if I slip and cry a little bit, is that ok?' Rinoa teased Squall.

'Then I'll know and I'll get mad at you…' said Squall crossing his arms and frowning.

'No you won't…there's no way you can…' Rinoa denied.

'I'll feel it…here…and if I know you are crying I'll just loose my mind…' he said seriously as he put his hand on his chest.

'It hurts when you cry…it's like being stabbed in the heart…the sorceress's knight feels double of her pain, you know that?' he told her, leaving her speechless…

'I don't want to hurt you, Squall! Never! I promise I won't cry!' she said grabbing him in a tight hug.

'Matron will help you…' Squall told her.

'How?...' she replied bleakly still hugging him.

'She's gonna teach you to use your powers, that should distract you a bit, huh?'

'That's nice. Maybe…' Rinoa replied pleased.

'Squall?' Rinoa started.

'Yeah?'

'What if you take very long and I can't take it anymore and want to see you!' she asked hoping he would have a solution for that.

'Rin, remember when you told me you couldn't find me in your dreams?'

'Of course I do…you said that if we promised to find each other at that beautiful field, you'd be waiting there for me…so if I went there I'd find you…you promised…' she said smiling at him as she remembered that day.

'I'll be with you in your dreams, Rin…I promised, right?'

'That's right…' Rinoa smiled.

'Just one thing…can you actually kiss in dreams?' she asked as she pulled away from their hug…

Squall gave a loud snort…

'Come here…'course you can…' he answered back as he pulled her towards his embrace and kissed her.

Meanwhile, in the Quad, Selphie and Irvine were skating.

'Woo-hoo! Irvy, isn't this fun?' she screamed at Irvine as she made a tiny spin and skated towards him.

'Yeah, kind of…I'm just glad you're happy, that's all that matters to me, baby…' he said as he nodded his head smiling at her cute grin. She was having so much fun; she just looked adorable when she was happy.

But before Irvine could say anything else, Selphie yanked him by his hands and started to go round and round very fast. They were spinning so fast that Irvine's cowboy hat flew of his head, making him laugh and Selphie giggle as loud as ever…

'Whoa!' Irvine yelled as she sped up, making him laugh even more out of dizziness.

'Woo-hoo!' yelled Selphie, slowing down and letting go of Irvine, making him roll away and fall on his butt.

'H-Hey! Hey! That's not fair…gimme that! That's mine…My hat! Give that to me! Selphie!' Selphie had picked up his hat, put it on and rolled away with it, making Irvine run after her, tripping and losing his balance on a few occasions…

'I'll get you, girl! Don't ever mess with the skating expert…his faster than light its self…!' he said as he sped up in her direction. Selphie was so cute with that mischievous smile on her face. Irvine sped up a little more and grabbed her waist, Selphie gave a loud squeak as she tried to escape from Irvine's hands, they ended up losing balance and both of them fell onto the grass patch. As they laid down trying to catch their breath, they looked at each other smiling, Selphie still giggling.

'Oh, Seffie my sweetheart, you just don't give up do you? Irvine said as he looked up at the cloudy sky.

'You betcha!' she said now lifting up, still grinning and approached him and started tickling him wildly, in the whole Squad the only thing you could hear was Irvine laughing out loud. As soon as Irvine escaped, crawling away from her and hiding behind a bush, as she went to get him back, she crawled through the other side of the bush. Irvine got up before she could reach the spot where he was, went around the bush and followed her behind the bush, caught her by surprise, picking her up and tickled her too. They both were going wild. Before they knew it they were rolling around on the grass. Irvine pulled her boot off and started tickling her foot; making her giggle so loud it would eco around the whole Quad. Selphie escaped and ran after Irvine who was running away with her boot.

'Oooh! So stinky!' Irvine said in a playful way, pulling a cheesy face as he skipped away backwards as she followed him.

'How dare you!' Selphie ran up to him and just jumped on him, making him loosing balance and ending up on the floor again. Selphie was sitting on top of Irvine; she grabbed her boot from him and pulled her tong out. But when she tried to get up, he pulled her down quickly by her arm, grabbed the other one that was holding the boot and pulled her closer to his face and kissed her like she had never been kissed before. She enjoyed the feeling so much that she started collaborating on the kiss too. Selphie's little heart was beating so fast because she really liked Irvine and had always urged to do that. And finally there they were, together like she always wanted. Irvine was also very nervous but didn't care; he just wanted Selphie to feel what he was feeling like doing for so long. After a very long kiss, Irvine let her go slowly to let her breathe, still holding her wrists.

'Ops!' Selphie looked worriedly at Irvine as she put one hand on her mouth, embarrassed for what had happened.

'It was an accident Seffie! You slipped… and I… c-caught you…I'm sorry!' gaggled Irvine as he waved his hands trying to explain what had happened.

'Yeah…right! You…you…you k-kissed me!' she said in a low voice so no one could hear, as a grin grew upon her face.

'Did not! Well, maybe…but …Seffie…I'm sorry! I didn't want to force you, but I don't know what got into me…and…and I… kissed you…Please forgive me! Are you mad at me?' he said nervously still lying down with Selphie on top of him, giving her a cute 'puppy look'.

'Well…I don't know…should I be?' she asked naively, giving him an awkward look.

'Oh, Seffie! I'm sorry! I should've explained myself to you…' said Irvine as he lifted up and gave her a warm hug.

'Explain? Explain what?' she asked as she put her arms around him too.

'Tell you about my feelings for you…you know?' Irvine explained as she got off him.

'Well, you know Irvy, I think…I think I also kissed you there for a moment, I mean 'cause if I didn't want to, I would've pulled away, right? At least I think so…'

'I'm confused Irvy!' she said as she put her arms around him again.

'So am I Seffie, so am I…'he confessed.

'Tell you what! Why don't we just pretend this didn't happen and not tell anyone?' suggested Irvine, regretting afterwards his suggestion.

'Maybe we should…'till we are sure about our feelings…' she said with some sadness in her voice.

'Yeah, that's just what we'll do…'till we are 100 sure…' said Irvine.

'I'm sorry for rushing things up, Seffie…' mumbled Irvine as he stood down on his knees to look at her.

'Me too…' she responded.

Irvine grabbed her once more, took his hat off her head, put it on his, embraced her and kissed her cheek.

'Here let me help ya…' said Irvine as he stood on his knees at helped her put her boot back on.

'Thanks, Irvy!' she smiled.

The day slowly faded away and the Moon was already preparing itself to substitute the fading Sun, who was melting as it vanished, leaving bright yellow and orange rays in the sky. It looked like a heavenly light show…

Irvine, Selphie, Rinoa, Zell and Squall spend the rest of the day in the Quad. While Selphie and Rinoa danced to the music coming from someone else's HI-FI, Zell would practise his punching and summersaults in the air, Irvine would lay in the grass with his hat on his face while taking a nice nap and Squall sat against a tree with his arms crossest and frowning as usual with his mind clouded, deep in thought.

After curfew, the five of them headed to the dorms.

'Goodnight pals!' said Irvine, and winked at Selphie, wich made her blush.

'Nighty-night everyone' said Selphie waving to everyone and shutting the door of her room.

'Night…' Zell said bleakly as he gave Squall a high-five, leaving Squall and Rinoa alone in the dorms.

'Goodnight, Squall' said Rinoa softly and she kissed his cheek, but before she could head to her room, Squall grabbed her arm…

'What ?' she asked.

'Err…nothing…' he said letting go of her arm a few moments later.

'Night…' he said looking down and walked into his room quickly.

Rinoa stood in the hall for a few seconds, wondering what was that he wanted to tell her, and head straight to her room, still in wonder.

Everyone had trouble in falling asleep, Zell because of the scene in the library, when he saw Moha with that guy, Irvine and Selphie, because of their spontaneous and romantic kiss (they were both very boggled up about their feelings, poor babies…), Squall also took some time, but ended up falling asleep with his mind on the next mission. Rinoa, on the other hand, as soon as she lied down on her bed was taken to dream world.

'_YOU BASTARD!...I'LL KILL YOU!...' _Squall yelled as he drew his gunblade and marched up to a man in a black cloak with a hood on his head, holding a dagger in his hand. He had stabbed Rinoa in her shoulder…

'_AARGH!'_ yelled Squall as he attacked the man, with all his might and strength slicing him open. The man fell to the cold dusty ground…

'_It's …p-poisoned…s-she'll die…'_ the man smirked as his eyes gave the last few blinks…

'_Rinoa!'_ Squall dived for her falling to his knees and picking her head up.

'_Rin, speak to me…come on!...please no! don't leave me…'_

'_I-I…l-lov…u…' _she mumbled feebly, with no strength left in her as her eyes tried too focus on Squall.

'_No…please…NOOO!'_ Squall felt warm tears coming down his face as his heart filled with pain and sadness…

'Squall…Squall, wake up! Squall wake up…' Quistis voice was getting louder and louder.

Squall opened his eyes quickly and found himself in his bed, breathing very fast and all sweaty, with Quistis who was bent over him, staring at him.

'Squall, it's time…' she said looking worried.

'Esthar has given the signal…Cid asked me to wake you up…we will have to beach the garden near Dollet any moment now and start our mission.' Quistis informed.

'Cid wants to speak to you…he's waiting for you on the bridge…'

'Fine…' Squall said coolly getting up, reaching his Gunblade and walked out of the dorms.

Quistis woke Zell, Selphie and Irvine, who all were in a bad mood, but were forced to get ready.

'In 30 minutes you shall abandon Garden and head strait into Dollet, the soldiers will be awaiting you at the communication tower's entrance…Feel free to equip yourselves…I've given extra amount of Gil to Quistis.' Said Cid back faced to Squall.

But it didn't take long for the Headmaster to turn around.

'Squall…please…take this…' Cid gave Squall six little shell shaped objects.

'These are Inter-communicators; they'll come in handy on this mission. You can use them to communicate with all of your comrades, including Rinoa…Xu will use them to give you orders…' he said as he patted Squall on his shoulder.

Squall kept quiet, for he did not know what to say at that moment.

'You can go now, go eat something with the rest of the SeeDs and then head to the front gate, I'll be waiting for you…I want to give you all a word before you leave…' he finished.

Headmaster Cid turned around again and Squall made his way to the elevator.

'Squall!' Cid called him once again, wanting to tell Squall something else.

'Yeah?' answered Squall at once.

'I'm glad I have you as a SeeD…it's an honour to have a Gunblade Specialist at last…you have become a great mercenary… the battles you've been trough prove that…hopefully this one you'll win as well…and make you greater than you already are…' Cid smiled winking his eye at Squall.

'It's a much greater honour to be a SeeD at Balamb Garden, Headmaster…thanks, we can only hope things go our way…' Squall said seriously making his SeeD salute and walked out.

Squall was very tired, but tried his best to hide it. The hours he slept didn't help, it made him worse…that dream was awful and frightening…secretly, deep down he knew it meant something…It didn't amaze him, he was used to these nightmares or warnings…he just wasn't used to having them with Rinoa…with her safety at stake. Squall knew this would cloud his mind for long, until he was absolutely sure Rinoa was safe…maybe when everything was over…but there was quite a long way until then. This was only the beginning. He head to the cafeteria thinking about this whole situation.

'Squall, how's it going, dude!…' said Irvine all in a good mood again, trying to cheer him up as Squall head to the table with a cup of coffee in his hand.

Squall sat down and started sipping on his mug slowly.

'I can't wait to kick some ass!' said Zell as he punched the air with his mouth full.

'Don't you ever get sick of hotdogs, Zell? You eat them all the time! Breakfast, lunch and supper! I can't even look at those…yucky old hotdogs anymore…' complained Selphie.

'I forgive ya, for ya don't know what ya sayin'…'cause you're a girl and all…girls don't understand… do they Squall? 'Zell said as he gave Squall a friendly punch on the shoulder.

'…' Squall didn't hear, he was in the clouds as usual, staring at the floor and frowning, while pictures from his nightmare invaded his mind…

'Yo Squall! Watcha thinkin' 'bout?' Zell went on trying to make Squall talk a bit.

'Nothing…' Squall said still frowning.

Zell tried to be his self, forcing a smile on his face or a joke…trying to get back to normal after having his heart broken…because, really, what he wanted to do was go to his room, curl up on his bed and sleep, but instead, punched and kicked as much as he could…it was his holy medicine. He knew soon he'd forget about that girl. She just was one more obstacle in his dream's way…That's what he wanted to think and that's how he did…it worked for him…

Quistis started giggling.

'What?' Squall hated when people laughed at him for no reason.

'It's nothing, it's just funny the way you haven't changed at all…even after…' before Quistis could finish Squall looked down and crossed his arms.

'That's none of your business…' he said, trying to avoid her from talking about Rinoa.

Squall's relationship with Rinoa was precious to him and he didn't want everyone talking about it as if it were "the subject of the moment". Squall tried to avoid conversation that involved that subject. It was something that only belonged to Rinoa and him. No one else.

'I'm sorry…' Quistis apologised still giggling amazed at his remaining 'loner's' attitude.

'Whatever…' he said dully.

Squall finished his coffee and got up.

'Head to the front gate when you're finished, I'll catch up with you later…' Squall left the table leaving his comrades silent.

'Hey Squall! Where're you going?' Selphie shouted out from the table as Squall left the Cafeteria, but Squall had too much on his mind.

Squall was heading to the dorms, where Rinoa was. There was something he had to do.

He entered Rinoa's room silently and there she was, sleeping all curled up on her bed. Squall shut the door softly, trying not to make a noise, paused his Gunblade on the floor and kneeled on the next to her bed.

'Now I can see you all the time…' he whispered at her as he opened her hand gently and placed the Inter-Communicator there.

'I'll miss you…' Squall kissed her forehead and left the room giving her a last look. She was sleeping so peacefully, she was so silent, you could only hear her breathing and crickets outside her window. You could mistake her for an angel…

When Squall reached the front gate area, Selphie ran up to him, grabbed his hand and pulled him all the way to the rest of the comrades.

'You're late, Squall!' she complained.

'I had to go and do something first…' Squall explained.

'Well you are all here, and that's what matters…' said Cid.

'Well that about covers it all…' Cid finished.

'Good Luck.'

The comrades made their way out of Garden and walked across the plains. The sun was rising; it was so beautiful it looked like something spectacular was happening in the sky, you could almost hear an orchestra playing in the background as the sun rose…Between the mountains they went and finally entered the city of Dollet.

**To be continued...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4:**

The comrades crossed the towns's Square head directly to the Communication Tower. When they reached the Towers area, they stood on the cliff facing it…

'Cid said they'd be waiting for us 'there', right?' asked Irvine as he looked around.

'I don't see them…' mumbled Zell ironically.

'Yep, but it seems like the old Esthar soldiers had better things to do, so just popped their clogs on and all went out on a nice …' snapped Selphie.

'Who the hell do they think we are? Some junior classmen on some school trip…? We are SeeDs, not SeeD candidates…SeeDs…S-e-e-D-s…' but before Zell could finish his complaint…

'Calm down you guys! I don't think that the Esthar soldiers would just leave us hanging here…' Quistis said trying to figure out what was happening.

'Me too. After all they come from that super-dooper-high-tech-city don't they?...Maybe they got tired and decided to have all a nice fresh drink at that little bar we saw just now…' said Selphie in her usual cute manner.

'Selphie, that would be the same as "leaving us hanging here"…' smirked Squall as he patted her head in the "you're so cute" way.

'No, there must be something going on…they must be in trouble or something…' said Quistis getting even more worried now.

'Well lets not jump to conclusions, when did Cid say they'd be here?' asked Irvine trying not to worry anyone.

'He didn't really say, he just said that they'd be waiting for us "here"…' said Squall a little confused.

'Well that's kinda odd, huh?' said Selphie as she scratched her ankle.

'I know…' Squall pulled out from his jacket pocket the little shell-shaped blue Inter-Communicators and threw them to each one of his comrades.

'These are Inter-Communicators, Cid said they'd come in handy, guess that now's the time…' he explained.

'Let's see…' thought Squall as he opened the little shell-shaped object.

After pushing a few buttons he finally discovered how to get through to Cid. At first the screen was scratchy and he couldn't hear anything, but then a digitalised voice said: 'Linking to IC Cid' and in a few seconds Cid's face had appeared on the tiny screen.

'Hello Squall. I see you've found some use in the IC.' Said Cid cheerfully.

At the sound of Cid's voice the whole gang (who were also desperately trying to make it work) ran up to Squall.

'Yeah, kind of.' Squall responded.

'So…what's the matter?' questioned Cid.

'Well, you see Headmaster, those Esthar soldiers who were supposed to be here at the Communication Tower's entrance…are actually not here…' answered Selphie before any word could come out of Squall's mouth.

'Hm…' thought Headmaster Cid.

'Didn't they plan some kind of hour to be here?' asked Quistis.

'No. But they should've seen you already…' thought Cid loudly.

'See us? H-How?' questioned Irvine this time.

'Just stick around there and say that you are SeeDs and you've come by my behalf.' Advised Cid, switching off the IC immediately afterwards.

'Huh? Now besides being treated like some "juniors" we also have to talk to the walls!' asked Zell ironically.

'Say that to who?...there's no one here…' asked Quistis puzzled.

Squall without saying a word jumped off the rocks and approached the doors of the Communication Tower.

'We are SeeDs, we have come on Headmaster Cid behalf to receive your instructions.' Squall said firmly as he gave the SeeD salute.

'What the?' said Zell softly as four Esthar soldiers appeared circled around Squall.

'I should've known…Of course! Esthar soldiers have the ability of becoming invisible! They must have suspected us for not wearing our SeeD uniforms…' said Quistis as she slapped her forehead in disbelief to her forgetfulness.

The comrades made their way down the rocks and followed Squall.

'We are pleased to finally meet you Sir Leonhart' said one of the masked soldiers.

'Please follow us…' said another Esthar soldier.

They entered the tower's base and followed the Esthar soldiers into a room.

'Please be seated' said one of the soldiers.

The room was huge. There was a round table in the middle of it with huge chairs, a huge green flag on one of the walls and a huge painting of a Castle on another.

The comrades sat down and waited for one of the soldiers to start talking. The silence was very annoying, so Squall was forced to say something.

'So what are your instructions?' asked Squall at last, a little uncomfortably.

'Since Headmaster Cid from Balamb Garden informed us on the lost report about Win Hill, Sir Kiros and Sir Ward kindly offered to investigate more about the subject. Esthar has the best communication system of all and was able to detect more about the Win Hill invasion.

Thanks to Sir Ward and Sir Kiros, we now know that the invaders come from the Forests near the Shummi Village and apparently their Queen has ordered her soldiers to find what is known as "The Tear Blossom". We have no idea of what it may be, but we suspect it relates to "the powerful resources" they spoke about on the first report. They have taken over Win Hill for 83 hours and now are patrolling the whole town. You shall go there in disguise, to ease your mission. There are signs of great violence, and we suggest you equip yourselves properly in case your arrival disturbs them. They have been invading people's houses and threatening them.' informed one of the soldiers.

'So as you can see, we haven't discovered the real motives for this invasion. We leave that up to you.' Continued the other soldier.

'We have to be quick…' Squall said firmly as he got up from his chair.

'Let's get them!' yelled Zell as he punched the air.

The comrades thanked the soldiers with their usual salute and left the tower.

Meanwhile in Garden:

Rinoa had wakened up just one hour after Squall's departure and had been in his room all day with her Inter-Communicator in the palm of her hand, just staring at it…

'… Squall…I wish I had gone with you…' she sighted anxiously.

Rinoa refused leaving his room and kept on staring at the little shell-shaped object, wondering when he would come, would he be there for long, would he be alright there? She didn't want to call him because she had a feeling he would be busy and probably would think she was backing out on her promise. After all he was right, she was independent! She could do anything on her own, she was a Forest Owl…

'I hate this! I feel so helpless! I need to do something...I may not be a SeeD, but I am a Sorceress…and a Forest Owl…' she thought out loud.

Rinoa jumped up from Squall's bed, put the IC in her pocket and walked out of the room.

'I'll just head straight into Dollet and catch up with the gang…I don't care if they scream at me…I want to help on this mission…I know I can…I have to…' she thought as she walked towards the gates.

'Miss Heartilly, I have received strict orders on your stay in the Balamb Garden. I cannot allow you to abandon Garden without any sort of permission…' said the old gate-man.

'That's ridiculous! What if it's an emergency!' she asked the gate-man, already losing her patience.

'I haven't been warned of any emergencies, sorry miss.' answered the gate-man.

'Very well, what if it's really, really important and it's a life or death situation?' she tried her luck getting a little annoyed.

'Miss, I'm sorry. If I let you out, I'll get fired…I have been working here for many, many years and my son needs my support. I can't let him down now. You understand, don't you?' said the gate-man almost begging her.

'Yes, I understand. But what if you pretended you weren't looking and I walked through? It would be my fault!' she tried again.

'I suppose, but I'd get fired anyway…this area is of my responsibility and orders are orders. I'm really sorry, miss.' He said nervously, fearing she'd use her powers against him…

'Fine. I understand…You're right, who am I to try and mess up your work…I'm sorry for wasting your time…I'll just go back to my room…' she lied trying to convince him that she was really planning on staying.

Rinoa walked away slowly, making sure he thought she was being obedient and as soon as she reached the directory, she hid away behind it.

'Okay, I'm a sorceress…I have powers…If I have powers…I can make myself invisible…Okay…here goes nothing!…' Rinoa thought to herself.

Rinoa closed her eyes and concentrated, soon a very bright white light came flashing out of her body involving her in a sort of bubble of powerful blinding light…fading away a few seconds later…

Rinoa hoped it had worked…'Please, please, please…' she thought to herself and before she knew it her whole body was gone.

'Yes! Thank you! Thank you!' she whispered.

'I'm starting to like being a sorceress…this is great…I'm sure I can help the others on this mission…all they have to do is except me the way I am…' she thought to herself…

Rinoa made her silent way to the gates again and went up to the window where the old gate-man supervised the place. She took the liberty of pulling her tong out and waved at him wildly (just to test if she was really invisible, more for the fun though.). The man kept on staring right through her.

Rinoa let out a silly giggle, but the old man was quite def and couldn't tell the difference (she thought)…

As she jumped over the gates, one of them moved…making the old man jerk…

'Who's there!...' he yelled nervously as he stumbled out of his little cabin…

Rinoa just went on and ran out of there, forgetting she could still be heard, but was so nervous, she didn't really think on that moment, she just wanted to leave the garden, rushing by some girls, making them jerk, not knowing what hit them…

'I've made it… now I can go find Squall and the others…' she thought to herself as she took the first few steps on the country plains.

Rinoa made herself visible again, walked across the country plains and entered the city of Dollet joyfully, with a great smile on her face. People that walked past her would look, thinking she was crazy for smiling on her own…she didn't care…

'What now?' asked Irvine a little bit mixed up.

'I suggest we go and buy some Items at the Item shop.' suggested Quistis as she walked along with others up down the road that led to the cliff.

They head to the Item Shop and bought some potions, remedies and phoenix downs.

'Well, that should be enough. I think it's time we head back to Garden.' said Quistis.

'I'm hungry! Can't we stop somewhere to eat something…all this walking has made me hungry…I didn't really have breakfast…' whined Selphie as she walked with her arm around Irvine.

'That's a great idea, Seffie, we can stop by and have a drink as well, what do ya say?' agreed Irvine.

'Yeah that sounds fine, but it's our leader who decides here, not me.' Quistis answered grinning at Squall.

'Whatever…' Squall answered as he walked off without them. Squall didn't want to leave Rinoa on her own for too long, but also didn't want to control the others. He hated when people treated him as the leader.

Finally the guys found a restaurant and decided to go in.

'Can I take your order?' asked the moody waitress as if she had enough of repeating the same sentence all day.

'I'll have a chocolate mousse! Yummy!...please…' ordered Selphie, almost forgetting to be polite, making the waitress give her a surprised and despising look, probably despising her for her cheerfulness.

'I'll have a beer.' ordered Irvine.

'That's two!' ordered Zell.

'I'll have a glass of water, please'

After writing their orders down, the waitress stood there waiting with her eye twitching with impatience…

'…and you sir!' she asked impatiently.

Squall was in the clouds as usual and wasn't hearing a word of what was happening. Even after the waiters moody moan, Squall's line of thought continued.

'You can get him a coffee; I think it will do the trick…' Quistis answered the waitress.

'Squall, you Ok?' asked Irvine as he punched Squall's shoulder gently.

'…Yeah, why?' answered Squall wondering why everyone was staring at him.

'It's nothing really. It's just you're a little silent today and we worried about you, that's all.' said Quistis.

Squall kept silent.

The waitress brought the order and gave them all a dirty look as if they we're unwanted there.

Zell and Irvine slowly sipped on their beers, Quistis gulped up her water in one go and Selphie attacked her Chocolate Mousse. Squall kept his arms crossed on the table and stared at the empty table across the restaurant while his head thought of the conversation at the Communication Tower.

'Your coffee's getting cold Squall, better drink it up before we go…' said Quistis trying to stop him from thinking.

'Yeah.' Squall replied tonelessly as he handled the mug gently and started sipping the coffee slowly.

While Quistis and Zell talked about the whole Win Hill mission, Irvine tried to eat out of Selphie's chocolate mousse bowl, being hit on the hand every time his spoon would reach for her bowl.

'Stop it you!' Selphie yelled at Irvine.

'Mop it you!' mocked Irvine in a girlish voice and laughing his head off adfterwards… until Selphie bent her spoon with a bit of mousse on it and made it fly straight at Irvine's face. Surprisingly this made him laugh even louder.

'There, Irvine. If you wanted some, all you had to do was ask!' she said in her naïve voice giggling afterwards at him.

'Cut it out you two! We're in a restaurant! Behave!' reprimanded Quistis.

'Sorry Quisty…' said Irvine as he gave her a "puppy look".

Squall finished sipping his coffee and finally said something.

'You guys finished?' he asked unexpectedly.

'What's the hurry?' asked Zell.

And suddenly a melodic little sound came out of Squall's jacket pocket.

'It's the IC, quick open it!' ordered Quistis.

Squall opened the tiny little shell-shaped object, pushed the accept button and Xu's face appeared.

'Squall, there has been a slight change of plans. Garden will have to head back to Balamb, so you are on your own now. We'll enter in contact with you as soon as new orders are established. Please stay at a Hotel for the meanwhile. That's an order. Don't do anything stupid. Goodbye.' And before Squall could say anything Xu had already switched off.

'What! They just left? Why the hell?' Zell interrogated.

'That's great, now we can all sit here to dry and shrivel up…oh…wasn't that poetic?' said Irvine ironically, making Selphie giggle.

'We have no choice. It's an order, you heard her.' said Quistis tonelessly.

'What are we gonna do now?' asked Selphie.

'We should get some rest before our journey, we'll get a room.' suggested Squall.

Squall and his comrades headed to the nearest Hotel and got a room.

'Oh, thank you! My feet were killing me!' said Selphie relieved as she threw herself on to the closest bed and took off her boots.

'I still don't get it, why did Garden back out on us?' questioned Zell.

'I don't really care! All I want to do is get to the point and get rid of those stupid forest invaders!' said Irvine as he touched Selphie's hair as she laid down on his lap.

'We must move according to Cid's instructions…or we may just do something wrong…and put everyone in danger…' said Quistis cautiously.

Squall kept quiet sitting on one of the beds, until he heard that melodic ring again.

'Open it Squall!' squeaked Selphie excitedly, hoping it would be news.

'Hold on!' said Squall impatiently as he looked for it in his jacket pocket.

'Who is it?' asked Quistis.

'It doesn't say…It's a message…' he said as he stared at the screen.

'So? What does it say!' Selphie interrogated curiously and impatiently as she lifted up from Irvine's lap and clapped her hands on the bed.

'It's says "open the door"…' Squall read as he stared at Selphie (thinking), got up and opened the door without hesitating.

As soon as Squall had opened the door, Rinoa had jumped on him and kissed him, making him take a few steps backwards. Rinoa wouldn't let go of Squall and just kissed him all the way like crazy…

Even though, Squall had been longing to be with her and was enjoying her kiss, he pulled away…he knew it was wrong for her to be there…

'Rin, what are you doing here!' he asked furiously as he pulled her away coldly.

'Squall, I couldn't take it…I felt so helpless…I had to come and help you…I couldn't be without you any longer…so I came…please don't be mad at me…' she explained as she tried to catch her breath back.

'Rinoa, I told you…It's too dangerous here…' Squall started, but realized that the whole gang was watching.

Squall grabbed Rinoa by her thin arm and pulled her towards the exit door. He shut the door violently.

'I told you it's too dangerous! You shouldn't have come! Now Garden is gone…you can't go back!…Why are you so stubborn!' Squall scolded Rinoa as he held both of her arms and shook them…

'Because Squall…I love you!' Rinoa gasped as she gave him a tight hug.

'Now it's too late…you can't go back…if anything happens to you…I'll just die…' he said as stupefied laugh came out.

'I don't care, Squall…besides nothing will happen to me as long as you're with me, right?..' she said now kissing his cheek.

'You foolish girl…you shouldn't be risking your life for me…I don't deserve it…' he said now a little more cheerful hugging her even tighter and kissing her head.

'Thanks for the IC, Squall…' she said.

'I gave it to you, so we could see each other! Why couldn't you have used it instead of coming here!' asked Squall getting upset with her again and pulling away from the hug…

'It's not the same!...Squall, it's a screen!...' she smirked.

'Of course it is! We can talk the same way as we are talking now…' he said trying to make her feel silly for coming.

'Rubbish…it's not the same and you know it Squall…Oh c'mon Squall! You know I'm right! We much better like this…at least we are together…it doesn't make sense being apart from you…I'll just come running back to you…' she said as her voice got more serious.

'You are not right, Rin…The moment you put your foot out of Garden, you went wrong...' Squall said with a disappointed tone in his voice.

'I want to help Squall!...can't you see? I can help… I'm a sorceress...I- I have powers... I can help! I want to…' she insisted.

'You could have helped me by staying at Garden and learned from Matron, you would be one less worry on my mind!' he groaned as he crossed his arms and looked down furiously.

'Squall, I don't want to fight with you! Stop it…It's too late now, there's nothing you can do…it was my decision and it's my responsibility for what ever happens to me…Squall, I think I can decide for myself…this is what I want! I want to fight alongside with you…Please don't hate me for that…' Rinoa said in her justice as she took hold of Squall's hand.

'I don't hate you for that…I just freak out sometimes…' Squall said as he turned around and walked towards the door…

'Wait!...W here do you think you're going?' Rinoa said as she yanked him by his arm and pulled him towards her.

'Rin, I have to go and…' but before Squall could go on…

'Kiss me…' she said as she gazed into his eyes.

'Rinoa, there's no time for playing right now…don't toy with me…'

'I'm not toying with you, just kiss me…c'mon…' Rinoa prepared her lips for a kiss and closed her eyes.

'You won't give up, will you?' he said a little more cheerful.

Rinoa nodded.

'Whatever…' he said as his hand reached out for her face and kissed her.

'You're a good kisser…' she said softly winking at him.

'C'mon…you can't be angry with me all day…don't pull that face…we're together, Squall…at this moment that's all that matters…' she said peacefully looking into his eyes with so much love…

'I'm not angry at you…I'm just worried……I don't want to loose you…' he murmured softly as he pulled her towards his chest to embrace her, stroking her head as he said the last words absentmindedly…

'Loose me?...you'll never loose me!...I'm gonna stick on you like glue all the time…you'll never loose me…but, I don't want to loose you either, Squall…' she whispered in his ear…

Squall blushed. He loved kissing Rinoa, it was like going to heaven and back… after all she was his angel…

'I think we should get some rest …' said Squall as he gave a huge yawn and opened the room's door.

Before Squall knew it, Selphie, Zell and Irvine had all fallen at his feet. They had been trying to hear the conversation…

'And what is this, can I know?' smirked Rinoa.

'We were racing to the door!' gasped Selphie as she looked up at Squall and Rinoa and smiled faintly.

'Yeah, that's it…we were…err…racing…yep….' Said Irvine trying to confirm what Selphie had said, spoiling everything…

'I've taught them a new game called err… "The last one to the door is a rotten egg!"….err…wanna play?' tried Zell this time, making things as worse as possible.

'Whatever…' groaned Squall who stepped over the three "door listeners" and sat on one of the beds with Rinoa.

'New, eh?' smirked Rinoa.

'So…are we gonna have to wait very long 'till they give us new orders?' asked Rinoa looking at Quistis as she tried to avoid looking at her in the eyes.

'Well, I don't know…they are hiding something from us…I'm sure of it…' she said in a low voice as she walked up and down in the room.

'Hey, Quisty…don't walk a hole in the floor…we are kind of broke right now…you know?...' sneered Irvine, making Selphie giggle.

'Squall, why don't we go for a walk, just the two of us? What do you say? You can show me around, huh?' suggested Rinoa as she put her arm around him lovingly.

'I don't know, I think I should stay here, just in case Cid gives us an order…' said Squall a little bit worried about the mission.

'Yo, Squall! I'll contact you if Cid says anything…Go ahead, man…' Zell said as he held the IC high and winked at Squall as he gave him a naughty smile…

'C'mon, Squall!' groaned Selphie with her mouth shut.

'Please ?' asked Rinoa as she put her hands together, blinking her eyes at him sweetly.

'Fine…I'll be back soon, then…' he told his comrades as he got up.

Rinoa grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door.

'It's amazing how Rinoa gets around him all the time…he seems so different when he's with her…he looks happier…I don't know…' said Selphie staring at the door and smiling. Quistis turned around quickly and threw herself into the armchair crossing her arms and her legs (looking quite annoyed).

'We cant take too long, we're on a mission, Rin..' he told Rinoa as she pulled him all the way out of the Hotel.

'Finally alone…' she sighted as they stepped out of the hotel into the little cobbled street.

They walked around the town slowly holding their hands and sometimes with their arms around each other…

They finally stopped at the beach side where they sat in the white sand and watched the sunset over the spectacularly violent blue sea…

'I love being with you, Squall…I feel so happy like this…' Rinoa said as she gazed at the sunset.

'No,_ I_ love being with you, Rin…I don't deserve you…I-I'm an idiot…Rin…I'm sorry…I'm sorry for being so harsh with you…I'm really sorry Rinoa…I got worried and _scared_ anything would happen to you…I'm…' but before Squall could finish:

'Shhh…It's ok, Squall…I know…just…just hold me…'she whispered as she pressed her finger against her lips and focused on Squall's eyes.

Squall did as she asked, she sat between his long legs, leaning against him, with his arms around her and his chin on her shoulder. They just sat there, until the last few rays of light disappeared into the black of the night.

'I think we should head back to the Hotel, it's getting late…' Squall said as he squeezed his arms around her a little more lovingly and kissed her head as he looked at the dark horizon being lit by the gigantic moon, which the sea would reflect gracefully.

'Yeah…I'm getting cold…and hungry…' she said as she looked at him tenderly.

It was dark and the only light available was the moon's. Rinoa looked even more beautiful when she was lit by the moonlight, with her raven-dark hair shinning beautifully. The same for Squall, whose big sea-blue eyes were darkened and his scar was lit by the moon light as well, making him look extra hansom.

'Yeah, let's go…' he said as he lift up and took his leather jacket off to cover Rinoa.

'Thanks…' she smiled.

'Don't thank me for loving you…I should thank you…' he smiled…

'What would you say if I took us to drink something warm?' he suggested.

'That would be great…' she smiled.

Squall put his arm around her to keep her warm and they head from the beach to the nearest bar.

Rinoa loved being with Squall this way, he just made her feel loved, protected and special, she couldn't explain what she felt for him, she was with the one she loved more then life its self, that's all she knew…

Squall had never felt this way for anyone either, all he knew, was that his place was next to Rinoa, that's what made him happy and that's what he wanted. Rinoa had the ability of bringing the best out of him, after all, she saved him…She made him realize how empty his life was just by trying to push love and friendship aside, afraid to loose people he loved... He loved her like he never loved anyone else, with all his heart…She was his reason for happiness, something he had forgotten all about, very long ago…she brought him back to life…she was his angel…

They stopped by a tiny little bar near the beach, it was empty, they were the only ones there…

Squall ordered two hot chocolates…

'Hm…I haven't drunk this since I was a little girl…my mother used to make it when it was just the two of us at home…I miss her…' she said with a dreamy look on her face…

'I'm sure she misses her angel too…' he smiled shyly.

'What about you, Squall?...You've never spoke about your past before…Did you ever know who your parents were?' she asked as she looked at him curiously.

'I-I…I was brought to the orphanage when I was very young…I have no memories of my parents…' he said coldly as a sad look invaded his eyes.

'Matron used to take care of us… and Ellone…' he started to stare at floor as a frown grew across his face…

'She left me…she was like my sister…but she left me…and I was all alone………I promised myself I'd never be abandoned again…I couldn't…it was too painful…when I liked someone… that person would always go away…and I was always left to be on my own…I tried my best…I really did…I've learned to not depend on anyone…and I've really tried, but…sometimes I have no other choice…' he said as his eyes shinned with sadness…

'You don't have to talk about it Squall…I know it's painful…I feel the same way about my father…' she confessed as she held his hands…

They sipped their hot chocolates slowly, both gazing at each other with silly smiles on their faces, making each other giggle…

Squall would sometimes drop chocolate on the table as he sipped and gazed at her, making her giggle. Rinoa would sometimes also make him laugh when she would get chocolate on her top lip…

'I don't know what I'd be without you…' Squall thought to himself as he gazed into her eyes…

'Hey! Lovebirds! I have to close the establishment…Make it snappy! C'mon I don't have your wonderful lives to live…' said the owner as he winked at them…

'We're on our way…don't worry…' said Rinoa as she smiled at Squall.

They walked out and head slowly to the Hotel…

They just enjoyed being like that with nothing else but the moon around them…

Suddenly as they head slowly towards the Hotel's entrance, a bunch of men appeared out of thin air in front of them…

'Kill him…' smirked one of the six guys.

Squall drew his Gunblade without hesitating as he pushed Rinoa out of the way…

'Rinoa go! Run!' Squall yelled as he pushed her backwards…

Squall marched up to one of the guys and grazed him, making him disappear.

'Stop playing! Get him!…' yelled one of them impatiently…

One of them set his arrow to his bow and directed to Squall, but before Squall could cast protect on himself…he was hit in the shoulder…

'Argh!' Squall ripped it out of his shoulder and marched up to the next guy, slicing his arm…but the guy didn't disappear…

'That's it! You guys are helpless…' said the snotty guy as he put his hand together and raised a green light in his hands throwing it at Squall a moment later…

Squall tried to swerve but it was too fast. Before he knew it, the green light had past right threw his chest, making him feel cold inside as if they had stabbed him with an ice sword. He started to loose all the strength in his legs and fell on his knees…still trying to lift himself up, supporting himself on his Gunblade, but as soon as he got back on his feet, one of the guys marched up to him and grazed his chest, making his warm blood splash all over the floor…

Squall's chest was bleeding and his vest was torn…making him even colder and starting to shiver uncontrollably…'Urgh…Rino-a…g-go…' he took two heavy steps and pushed Rinoa backwards, making her stumble backwards, mouth dropped open in shock…after that Squall's mouth dropped open as well, his eyes stressed in pain and it wasn't long before he collapsed on his knees again, then fell completely to the ground, this time out of unconsciousness…the pain was too overwhelming…

'Get her! She's the sorceress! Get her!' said the guy as he pointed at her…

'You pigs!' she yelled as she closed her eyes filled with tears as a white light came out of her hand involving her body and Squall's unconscious body, disappearing into thin air …

**To be continued...**


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5:**

'Where did she go!' asked one of the guys puzzled and all irritated.

'She's a sorceress, remember? She can disappear as well...She's a powerful one...' said one of the men staring at the spot where Rinoa had once been.

'I thought she received her powers recently! She shouldn't be that good!...'said the other guy, looking impressed.

'Let's go...It's no use staying here...The others might come...and we don't have time to waist...'said the leader as he opened his hand and made a weird gesture, making them all disappear in a bright white flash...

'Oh... no! Squall talk to me...please...' Rinoa cried as she made herself visible again, her tears falling onto Squall's chest, as she tried to lift his head up and noticed his heart beating through his chest that would bump, now and then...

'Squall, please...wake up...' She whispered at him as she kissed his cold dry lips, more tears falling down her pale frightened face...

Rinoa was petrified, she didn't know what to do...Squall was badly hurt and he wasn't waking up...She tried to pick him up but he was too heavy for her...She started crying uncontrollably and getting frustrated, not knowing what to do anymore...

Rinoa took his jacket off and placed it back on him, trying to keep his cold body warm and finally decided to use a Phoenix Down to bring him back...in vain...

Squall was badly hurt and his chest was blue, you could see all the veins in his chest that was badly cut...

Rinoa wanted to get help, but didn't want to leave him there on his own, she feared that those men would come back and take him away if they had the chance...she took her IC and used it to contact Irvine ...

'Rinoa? What's the matter, girl! Why are you crying!' asked Irvine nervously as he saw Rinoa's crying face on the screen...

'Irvine, I'm just outside the Hotel...Please call Zell...I need you to get Squall...His hurt...please hurry!' she gasped as tears rolled down her pale darkened face...

'Wha? I'm comin' right a way! Zell!' he yelled as he switched his IC off.

'They're coming Squall, you'll be fine...I'm here...' she whispered at Squall's unconscious body as she held him up next to her and closed her eyes as she sobbed now and then...

A few seconds later Irvine and Zell burst out the door (Selphie and Quistis behind them).

'Geezzz, what hit him?' said Zell as he held on Squall's arm looking at his weak state.

'Zell, you hold the other arm and Selphie and Quistis can hold his feet...' suggested Irvine as he held Squall under his muscled cold arm.

And so Zell and Irvine held Squall under his arms and the girls held his feet, bringing him up the stairs to the Hotel's room. Squall's body was totally limp... the comrades lost grip of him on a few occasions, making Rinoa jump of fright, almost dropping him on the floor...

Luckily the receptionist wasn't there to make a bigger scene...

'Now easy on the bed...that's it...' Irvine gave instructions as they all laid Squall's limp body slowly on the bed...

'He's really heavy!' Selphie was shacking her arm, feeling numb after holding Squall's heavy leg.

'W-What happened, Rinoa?' asked Quistis as she looked at Squall's peaceful unconscious face and then back at her.

Squall looked really cute when he was sleeping...besides being unconscious, he looked totally different. He looked so peaceful...anyone could swear he had a totally different personality...

'These two men...they appeared out of thin air...a- and just started attacking Squall... he tried to fight them... but before he could do anything...they...one of the guys cast some kind of magic...a very bright light...it went... right through him and...he... he tried to get up again but...but...he was hurt...a-and another guy hit him with his sword and...he fell...I was so scared...I thought they...h- had killed him...' she explained as she sniffed uncontrollably, Irvine putting his arm around her, trying to calm her down...

'What did those son's of a bitch want!' yelled Zell furiously as he banged the bed he was sitting on.

'I don't know...when Squall passed out...they told the others to get me...but I made us invisible...I didn't know what else to do...that's about the only thing I can do...I was scared...and when those guys appeared...Squall pushed me out of the way and I...I just froze...it was so fast...I didn't react...I don't know what happened to me...' she cried as she stroked Squall's cold face...

'He is so cold...' she sighted worriedly as she looked at Quistis who was sitting next to her.

'I think they know that I'm a Sorceress...and now they're after me...and Squall was hurt because of that...I...I should've done something! It's all my fault...' Rinoa cried as she lift up abandoning Irvine's embrace and walked towards the window gazing at the amazingly gigantic moon.

'This is all my fault...Squall was right...I shouldn't have came...I've just made things worse...I wanted to help out...I really did...I guess I was wrong...I know I failed...and above all Squall is paying the consequences of my actions...' she mumbled, her voice sadder than ever as she looked down at the windowsill.

'Rinoa, I'm sure it's not your fault...b- besides I'm sure that the only thing Squall really wanted was to protect you...and- and if you're safe, that's all that matters to him, I'm sure...I think he's glad that he got hit instead of you...' said Selphie, trying to force comforting words out of her mouth as she put her arm around Rinoa, Quistis giving her a scolding look, making Selphie shrug her shoulders.

'He'll be fine, I'm sure. Squall's a tough one...He won't give in...I'm sure...' said Irvine staring at Squall's pale scarred face.

'Irvine, look at this...' gasped Quistis as she took the jacket off Squall's chest and removed his bloody griever necklace from his chest.

'What the heck is that?' asked Irvine as he tried to focus on a dark shiny round tip stuck in Squall's flesh...

'It looks like his been hit by an object...look at his chest...it's...blue...it's poisoning him...this isn't any ordinary magic, I thinks it's forest magic...I think this is a Krypton spike...I'm not sure, but if it is... we need to do something fast or... we'll lose him...' she sighted as she tore his vest off.

Squall was in a bad state; his whole chest was badly bruised and cut...if they didn't do something fast...they could loose him...forever...

'_Where am I?... Rinoa!' Squall yelled as he realised that all around him was black and that all that surrounded him was nothing but darkness and void..._

_He stood for a few moments there looking around, looking for a light in the dark... Squall was confused and scared...He took one step forward hoping it would take him far...somewhere else...away from that dark and lonely place...to his friends..._

_It happened...Squall was in the Hotel's room._

_Squall walked towards the bed where his unconscious body laid..._

'_What the...?' groaned Squall softly in disbelief._

_Squall was standing over his unconscious body. _

'_Rinoa!' Squall called her as he head to the door in a quick run._

_As he tried to open the door someone else did it before him, Rinoa walked right through him, making him jerk. It was the weirdest feeling. It was like a huge gush of cold wind had passed through his insides..._

'_Squall, they're on their way, they're gonna cure you, I know it... just don't leave me...please... just hold on a little longer...' Rinoa mumbled softly as she stroked Squall's badly scratched and bloody face..._

'_Rin, I'll never leave you...I've told you...never...' said Squall as he approached his unconscious body and Rinoa, who was laying her head on his chest. Squall reached his hand to touch her but..._

_Suddenly Squall's feet got numb, causing him to drop on his knees, there was a terrible loud sound in his head, he felt as if his head would burst, Squall shut his eyes tighly..._

_The noise wouldn't stop...Squall tried to make the noise go away..._

'_Argh!' Squall wanted the noise to stop, it was too painful...his head was going to burst..._

_Squall opened his eyes and saw everything spin around him...He shut his eyes and felt as if he were inside a tornado...the wind blowing passed him, brushing his hair away violently...Squall had no strength to resist the wind..._

_When finally the wind faded away, Squall opened his eyes slowly, he felt his body fall...he was falling off a cliff...he then reached out his hands and grabbed whatever he could...he didn't want to fall...he couldn't... Squall was hanging off a cliff...he held onto anything his hands could reach, roots and dry twigs, sharp stone edges that would hurt his hands as they stuck out between his fingers...he looked up at his sore hands bleeding as sand would fall in his eyes... He was forced to look down... thousands of feet below him, were rocks that awaited his painful deadly fall...Squall's hands were bleeding and he was cold, his cuts on his naked chest were burning as the cold wind hit them, contributing for his weakness..._

'_Uh...' Squall tried to pull himself up, but didn't have anymore strength in his arms and his hands were now getting even more tired ,sore and numb...he was loosing his grip...Squall shut his eyes...'I can't make it...I'm going to fall...Rinoa...I'm sorry...' he thought..._

'_Squall...how I wish I could have held you in my arms just a little longer...I didn't want to leave you...my life slipped away from me...I fell...I tried to hold on...but I was weak...please don't throw your life away like this...there's so much you must know... you can do it...You CAN make it...life is too precious, Squall...don't let go of it...live for the ones you love, Squall...don't let go...You'll make it...' a strangely familiar soothing woman's voice echoed in Squall's head..._

_Squall opened his eyes wide and suddenly felt strength growing in his arms again, as his head would rewind on all the moments he was with Rinoa...her smile...her eyes...her voice...he felt strong again...he promised never to leave her...this made him realise how important she was to him...he started to feel his sore arms again...Squall was going to make it..._

'_Urgh!...' Squall pulled himself up, climbing the rocks slowly as his hands would burn more and more...the dry twigs cutting his skin open...he finally reached the safe part of the cliff and threw himself to the solid dusty ground, where he rested as the strong wind hit his sweaty and tired face, trying to catch his breath again...He could feel the dry stony sand prick his skin..._

_Squall shut his eyes...'Where am I?' he thought to himself as his face frowned... he opened them again as loud footsteps soared in his ears... _

_A pair of feet appeared in front of him...Squall looked up slowly with his eyes half-shut...no strength left in him..._

'..._I wasn't there before...but I'm here now...' Laguna said as he stretched out his hand to Squall and smiled reassuringly..._

'_Laguna!' Squall said weakly in disbelief as he tried to focus his tired eyes on Laguna's face to make sure it was really him..._

'_Take my hand...' said Laguna as he reached his hand a little closer to Squall..._

_Squall reached his shacking sore hand out slowly accepting Laguna's help..._

'_You look just like your mother...she had your eyes...' Laguna said as he looked at Squall still holding his hand, as Squall got up slowly..._

'_Where am I?' asked Squall all confused as he looked around and saw a dry landscape all around..._

'_Squall, there is so much I have to tell you...so much you have to know...'Laguna looked into Squall's eyes as he spoke..._

'_What do you want to tell me?' mumbled Squall weakly._

_Suddenly, before Laguna could even give an answer, he started fading away... He turned into a shapeless blob of colours, which looked as if it was going to take on another shape...Squall stopped breathing...someone was still holding his hand..._

_Squall looked at his hand and to his surprise it was a woman's hand...he looked up at the hand's owner and saw...' Quistis?'...she was smiling at him for a moment, but turned around quickly and pulled him as she started running through what looked like the Training Centre which was a bit blurry... Squall looked around as his tired legs tried too run, thumping his feet on the floor heavily... suddenly the Training Centre started fading away, as well as Quistis who turned into a shapeless blob of colours once again...now getting smaller and smaller turning into a white spot of light...The spot of light flew away from him, but Squall didn't hesitate and followed it...he was trying to catch it...he didn't know why he was doing it...but he had to catch it...Every time his hands would try to grab the little floating light speckle...it would fly further away from him, as if the motion of his hands would make it go faster...Squall tried then to do it slowly, succeeding at last... He closed his hands and felt them get warm, as the light would shine through his fingers..._

_Besides liking the warm feeling inside his hands, Squall opened his hands carefully and to his surprise a white, delicate, soft feather had been replaced in a flash of blinding light..._

_This made only one word come out of Squall's mouth...'Rinoa...' he said under his breath and in a blink of an eye, the feather had vanished...Squall felt again his hand being held...'Rin?'_

_Rinoa was dragging him towards the blurry dance floor and the trembling music was growing louder and louder, she was dancing with him...she was smiling at him...but Squall's whole body was in pain...he couldn't move as quick as she wanted him to... he just lost his balance and before he knew it, something was pulling him down to fall on his back...Squall shut his eyes...the fall seemed endless...he felt powerless..._

_He opened his tired eyes... the scenery had changed... This time Squall was falling down the Sorceress's mobile platform and Rinoa was reaching out for him as he saw her lips scream out his name, her beautiful eyes were sad... it seemed like time was passing by in slow motion...the scenery changed again..._

_Rinoa was falling into Squall's arms, she was desperate to hold him...and so was he..._

_Her body collapsed onto Squall's chest, where he stood reaching his arms for her...They just stood there, holding each other, their arms around each other, feeling the warmth of each others bodies and the fast beating of their hearts..._

_Squall closed his eyes, relieved she was there with him...she was safe...then he felt as if his body were _

_blown away by a huge gush of strong cold wind again, blowing him away as if he were made of sand...blowing him away from Rinoa's arms...'no...!'_

Squall opened his eyes again and found himself in Rinoa's arms, his arms laid numb on his sides... and his legs...he couldn't feel anything, but Rinoa's soft warm, silky and vanilla scented skin touched his cold and sweaty face...

'Rin...' he mumbled weakly causing Rinoa who was holding him up tightly to look at him...

'Squall ...you're awake...' she gasped as a beautiful smile grew across her face the moment she saw Squall's pale, tired and bruised face, looking at her with his eyes half-closed ...

'Squall, they're coming...they're gonna take care of you, you'll be fine...' she said as tears rolled down her pretty face, stroking his face. Squall was shivering; he was cold and felt comforted by Rinoa's warm hands touching his cold skin...

'Who?' he asked a little voiceless still struggling to keep his eyes open because of the bright light in the room.

'...the doctors...they'll cure you...' she said hopefully.

'... can't feel my legs...or my arms...' he said weakly as he looked at her in the eyes, frowning out of fear...

'...don't worry, Squall...you're gonna be fine...' she said reassuringly as her eyes glittered with tears.

'It's... c-cold...' Squall was now struggling even more to speak and shivered uncontrollably...

Rinoa sighted sadly, tears blossoming in her eyes and without hesitating she put her arms around Squall, trying to keep him warm...

'They're here...' said Quistis as she opened the door to two doctors dressed in white overalls, a woman and a man.

'Is this...Squall? Squall Leonhart?' read the female doctor off her clipboard, who had dark red hair tied up in a bun and fascinating deep green eyes that somehow made Squall nervous...

Squall turned his head slowly to see who it was...

'Yeah...' groaned Squall weakly, still shivering...

'Miss, step out of the way, please...this is urgent...' said the dark haired male doctor as he pulled Rinoa gently away by her arm...

The female doctor sat on the bed where Rinoa had been sitting before and pulled viciously the blanket off Squall's naked chest, causing Squall to start shivering even more...it was painfully cold...

'This is poisoning, Hade...' said the female doctor to the male one as she touched and analysed Squall's chest with her warm hands, making him jerk every time she would put any pressure on his wound...

'There's something in his chest, Hade...it looks like a...a...spike or something...it's what is causing the cyanosis...' she said vigorously...

'I believe it's a Krypton Spike...that's what Instructor Trepe said...' informed Rinoa trying to help with the diagnosis...

'Thank you Miss Heartilly, now please leave the room, this procedure requires lots of concentration...please' said Hade gently...´

'I'm sorry...I'll go...' sighted Rinoa as she tilted her head and looked at Squall one last time, her eyes shinning with love, worry and fear. She walked towards the door and left the room shutting it softly behind her...

'We have to remove it now...' said Dr. Hade as he opened his black bag and took out some sharp instruments and laid them on the bed near Squall's feet...

'...pass me the scalpel...' ordered the Doctor, pausing the instrument on the bed and picking up a wet cloth that Quistis had brought in to clean Squall's wounds with...

The doctor passed the wet cloth over Squall's chest, making him feel extra cold and causing him to clutter his teeth, shivering of cold...

Before Squall could even breathe, the doctor picked up the scalpel firmly and...

'ARGHHH!' Squall screamed as the doctor cut his chest open firmly...

Squall didn't know what he was feeling at that moment, he was cold, then hot, he could feel blood rising slowly to the surface of his skin; it was really painful, though the pain quickly turned into numbness...he shut his eyes as he tried to think of other things...but he could still feel his flesh open...

Squall was bleeding and the pain was so overwhelming he couldn't think of anything else. He was sweating and breathing deeply due to the great pain he was going through as tears would form in his frightened eyes...

'Sorry, Leonhart...It has to come out...It's poisoning you...It's killing you...' said the lady doctor very calmly as she passed the bloody scalpel back to Dr. Hade and cleaned the blood off her hands with a cloth...

'URGHHH!' the doctor was literally opening the cut with her fingers and...

'...tweezes, Hade...quick!' she hissed as she held the wound open and with her bare hands and used the tweezes to pull out the tiny green spike-looking object out of Squall's chest's flesh...

'Ugh!...' Squall was breading fast, struggling for air as the doctor passed now the tweezes back to Dr. Hade and...

'Needle and thread, Hade...' ordered the doctor vigorously as she stared frowning at Squall's open chest...

'Ugh...' the Doctor was sewing Squall's skin together gently with her delicate bloody hands...

This was the less painful part of the procedure, at least by now Squall couldn't feel anything but the burning sensation and the pricking of the needle passing through the skin of his chest several times...The doctor had steady hands and seemed to be very concentrated on what she was doing...

Squall shut his eyes, frowning, and tried his best to ignore the pain...

The minutes seemed like hours for Squall, he was in terrible pain and his chest had a deep burning sensation, it was so painful, he had difficulty in breathing, but tried his best not to let out any sort of moan...

The doctor finally finished stitching him. Dr. Hade helped Squall sit up on his bed, in order to start bandaging his chest...Squall felt weaker than he had ever felt before in his entire life...He started loosing his numbness, but was still in awful pain...Doctor Hade wrapped the bandage around him several times, tightening it every time a little more, while Dr. Jay (female doctor) would clean her instruments with a black cloth she had in the black medical suitcase...

Squall had never been through an operation before and also wasn't expecting the Doctor to just cut him open right there. Squall was in terrible pain, but tried not to moan, he breathe fast instead, his face would sweat, making his hair get sopping wet...Squall was in a very uncomfortable situation...

'It's done...' sighted Doctor Hade at Squall as he wrapped the last peace of bandage around Squall's thorax, who had his eyes half shut still shivering of cold...

'You'll be fine, just rest a lot...ok?' said Doctor Jay caringly as she stroked his head caringly, smiling reassuringly...

'Yeah...' said Squall as his lips moved mutely.

'Shouldn't we cast Cure on him, Dr. Jay...to help his quick recovery...I've heard his on quite an important mission...' said Dr. Hade staring at Squall's weak state as he helped Squall lay down again and covered him with his blanket...

'That's a good idea...Cure!' said Dr. Jay as blue light came straight out of her hand and hit Squall's strong built chest...

'That should keep you going...' she smiled as she lift up from the bed and continued looking at him with some affection in her eyes...

'Thanks...' mumbled Squall under his breath as he followed her with his tired half-closed eyes...

'It has been a pleasure to have helped you, Sir Leonhart...' said Dr. Hade with a huge smile on his face...

The doctors left the room and Squall was left in the room alone, he could already feel his legs and his arms gaining their senses, though he only had realised now in what terrible pain his whole body was in... he hardly could move...he tried to lift up...'Uh...' his chest would burn...

Suddenly he heard the door knob turn and he too turned around supporting himself on the bed...

'Squall! What are you doing! Are you mad! Get back in bed! NOW!' said Quistis as she walked up to him and forced him onto the bed, pushing his shoulders down with both of her hands, making his head drop back onto his soft pillow...

'Don't you dare get out of there, or I'll be forced to tie you up...' she said as she covered him with a silky, soft, warm blanket.

'Now, sleep...you're very weak...you need to rest...' she said now as she sat on the bed next to him...

'Whatever...' he groaned at her as he looked up at the ceiling.

'I heard you moan Rinoa's name in your sleep...I guess that's all you thought about when you passed out, huh? 'asked Quistis as she took a damp cloth and cleaned his sweaty face...Squall's eyes widened...

Squall grabbed her silky, warm, delicate hand and held it an inch from his face in shock as his face blushed and he looked away from her...

'...Sorry...Squall...sorry...I'll go...' she mumbled as she got up quickly (embarrassed) from Squall's bed in order to walk away.

Squall grabbed her hand instinctively (feeling guilty for being rude) making her look back at him, surprised at this gesture...Squall was looking in her eyes for the first time...he let go and swerved his eyes quickly to the closest object...

Quistis looked at him for a few seconds in shock and ran out of the room as fast as she could (switching the light off) as she felt tears rolling down her face...

Squall was left alone in the dark...He clapped his hand to his head, ashamed at himself...

'...asshole!' he hissed to himself, now pulling his own hair and frowning as his eyes shut tightly...

'...what was I thinking!...I'm such a jerk...Urgh!' he thought to himself as he remembered grabbing Quistis's hand...

'...why did she do that...why the hell did she make me that stupid question?...why did she start cleaning my face...?' he wondered..

'...I'm sorry, Quistis...' he mumbled to himself...

'...I'm such a jerk...' he whispered in the dark...

'...what was that that I was feeling...?...' he questioned himself...

'...what made me grab her hand!'

Squall was confused; he didn't know why he had grabbed her hand that instant...He felt disgusted with himself...He started to think Rinoa didn't deserve him...he felt as if he betrayed her for not knowing what to feel anymore...Squall fell asleep thinking about this...He was lost... he started thinking he'd be better off alone...

**To be continued...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

**The next morning...**

Squall opened his eyes slowly and turned his neck to look to the left and saw Zell sleeping on the bed drooling on his pillow and Selphie sleeping on the bed to his right with her head faced down into her pillow.

Squall sighted bleakly and lift up slowly as he leaned on his elbows...and saw Quistis all curled up on her bed (Squall looked away quickly) and Irvine on his back (as if he had just fallen there, with his arms and legs spread out) sleeping on one of the beds in front of him...but the other bed was empty...

'Ri...' Squall even felt ashamed to speak out Rinoa's name...

He laid down on his back again and closed his eyes slowly as he took a deep breath...

'...just pretend it didn't happen...nothing happened...'

'...does she like me?' he started wondering...

'...urgh...stop it! I don't care...nothing happened...it was stupid...just forget about it...Rinoa doesn't deserve this...'

Squall lift up slowly and put his feet to the ground to get up, feeling his cold griever necklace touch his naked chest...

'My boots...' he looked all around for them...as he realised he was barefoot. Finally he spot them next to the armchair where his jacket was as well...

Squall put his boots back on and put his jacket on with no vest on (it had been destroyed the night before).

Squall walked out slowly, trying not to move much because of the pain his whole body was in, opened the door carefully and walked straight into Rinoa, who was holding a tray with a cup of fresh smelling coffee and delicious looking chocolate muffins...

'Squall? You're up!' she yelled unconsciously as she put the tray down on the floor and threw herself at his neck making him take two steps back.

'I'm so happy you're ok...I was so scared you wouldn't make it...' gasped Rinoa as she snuggled her head in his shoulder and breathe in deeply his strong irresistible bitterly spicy scent...

Before he could say one word, Rinoa had suddenly remembered...

'Squall! You shouldn't be here! You should be in bed...' she said as she kissed him repeatedly on his cheek, giving Squall the goose bumps...

'Come...' she let go of him, picked up the tray and entered the room, pushing the door open with her foot...

'Sit down...' she said softly trying not to wake the others up...

'Here...' she put the tray on his lap and sat down next to him.

'I'm so glad you're alright...I was so worried about you...after hearing you scream like that...I think I even felt your pain...' she smiled.

Squall kept a serious face as he stared at Quistis sleeping in the end of the room and thought of what had happened...

Squall swerved his eyes back to Rinoa who was gazing at him, with her usual glamorous smile, trying to ignore that thought in his head by grabbing the muffin and smiling at Rinoa, appreciating the view...

'Is it nice?' she asked as she looked at him taking a bite out of the muffin.

'Love it...' he said, mouth full as he leaned to kiss her.

'Quistis has been a real darling, she sat up all night with me... keeping me company...I couldn't really sleep after hearing you scream of pain like that...'

Squall almost choked to the sound of her name and his eyes widened and stopped chewing...Rinoa had brought the thought back into his head...Squall finally realised he was being pathetic and pulled himself together...

'I'm sorry...She didn't really give me an anaesthetic...she just... cut me right open...quite surprising for a woman...' said Squall as he gave her a cute smile.

'Yeah, but I will never forgive her for making you go trough so much pain...she could have avoided it...' she pulled a serious face and looked away...

'Oh, Dr. Jay gave this to me...it's yours...I mean...it's what hit you...that evil man...' Rinoa pulled a jar from the little wooden cupboard next to the bed with a tiny little green crystal-looking object in it ...

'Weird isn't it?...She said it's highly poisonous...and told me she had never operated such a tough patient before...' Rinoa smiled.

'I'm not tough...I failed...' he looked down...

'I should have been able to kill all of them...instead I got knocked out like a weakling...My duty was to protect you...and I failed...worst of all I've failed you...' he said ashamed of himself, now feeling even worse...

'I'm sorry...I failed you...' he gasped looking sad, meaning it to both of the things that were on his heavy conscience.

'Squall, don't say that...you risked your life for me...in change you got hurt...Squall you did what you could...you could have died...I'm the one that shouldn't have came here in the first place...if I hadn't been so stubborn, you wouldn't have been hurt...your life wouldn't be at risk...' she said as she reached her hand for his face to touch him...

Squall blushed out of guiltiness...He thought he didn't deserve her to treat him so nicely...and much less blame herself for what happened...Squall felt terrible...

'Don't say that...' he mumbled looking down...

'Don't blame yourself for something that you have absolute no guilt for...I'm not worthy of that...don't ever say that again...' groaned Squall furious at himself avoiding her eyes...

Rinoa's mouth dropped open...

'Squall...why are you being so harsh on yourself! Don't ever say that again...do you hear? I'm not any better than you...don't punish yourself like that...You don't deserve it...you have no guilt in this story...it's not your fault...' she smiled reassuringly as she grabbed his painfully cut hand...

'Believe me I do...' groaned Squall slowly as he let go of Rinoa's beautiful pale, silky hand...

After a few moments of silence, finally Squall broke it, feeling uncomfortable with his guilty thoughts clouding his mind...

'How come?...Why did they attacked us!' he asked absentmindedly as he gazed at the ceiling...

'...Squall...they were after me...I heard one of them tell the others to get me...so...I guess this is all my fault...I was stupid...and I feel guilty for it...really I do...you were right...I insisted on coming here and my stubbornness led to your life in risk...' she looked down as she held his big strong hand...

'I heard one of the guys say that I was "the sorceress"...they were after me...I'm sure of it...' she said feeling guilty, as her head lowered down slowly.

'Why!' he asked furiously as a furious frown grew upon his face...

'I don't know I have never seen them before...they had some weird clothes on...' she said staring at the other bed as she thought...

Squall felt terrible, along with the pain his whole body was in, his conscience was heavy. He didn't want Rinoa to feel bad for what happened, he didn't know what else to do, he couldn't ignore her or stop talking to her although( that's what he really felt he should've been doing, once he felt he really didn't deserve to be loved by her, even loving her the way he did). On the other hand, he knew that if he kept distant from her, he would break her heart and he really didn't want that, he preferred to pretend nothing was wrong with him, even if it ate him inside, he'd rather hurt himself...

Squall thought twice before letting his cold side rise up, he tried his best to comfort her for he loved Rinoa with all his heart, and wasn't willing to make her suffer...

'Don't think about it...It's not worth it...' he said as he drank up the last bit of coffee and put the tray on the bed 'come here...', grabbing Rinoa and embracing her with his strong protective arms...

'...what if they come after me again, Squall?...what if something much worse happens next?...I'm scared...I hate being a sorceress...it's a curse...these powers have no use for me...they just make other people get hurt...I'm scared, Squall...' cried Rinoa softly hopelessly...

'You have no reason to be scared...if they come after you...I'll fight them...I'll be by your side all the time...so...don't you worry...everything is gonna be fine...I promise.' Squall whispered in her ear reassuringly, kissing her forehead afterwards...

They sat like that for long. Rinoa ended up falling asleep on Squall's chest with the sound of his

heart beating. It was the most pleasant feeling, hearing Squall's heart, she felt protected and loved, something she had been longing for very long. The only comfort she had...

Squall leaned his head on the cold wall (he didn't care, he felt as if he deserved all unpleasant feelings), thinking about what he had experienced before he woke up in Rinoa's arms the night before, that voice, it was very familiar to him, then Laguna..."...there's so much you must know...". Both Laguna and the woman's voice in his head had said the same thing...how come?...what did they mean?...what did he have to know? then...Quistis...he was so embarrassed...he thought he'd never be able to look straight into her face again...he was worried she had had the wrong idea because of his gesture...or was she right? Squall was confused and he hated himself for it...

Selphie sat on Irvine's bed as she tickled his nose with a feather that she had removed from her pillow, giggling softly...

Irvine would twitch his nose as he laid spread out on his bed as if he had fallen from a plane and landed on the bed...

This time, Selphie started tickling his nostrils, trying to wake him up, giggling even more this time...

'Urgh...' Irvine moaned as he slapped his own face, thinking it was a fly or something that was trying to invade his nostrils...Selphie just went on giggling as he started pulling real odd faces...

After slapping his own face several times, trying to kill the fly-thing that was itching his nose, he finally had woken himself up.

'Selphie!' he opened his eyes and found himself face-to-face with Selphie, who had that usual cute grin on her face, her pearly white teeth shinning trough...

'ZZZZZZZZ...' Selphie imitated a fly as she waved the feather around fly-like...

'...so, it's you...you're the fly!...' chuckled Irvine as he grabbed Selphie by her face and tried to kiss her...

Selphie swerved her face forcing Irvine to kiss her on her cheek...Irvine's eyes went sad as Selphie pulled away. Selphie then gave him another peck on his cheek (feeling guilty afterwards). She thought about their conversation in the Quad and had a feeling it was to soon for any conclusions. She was afraid her feelings weren't sorted out, she didn't want to anticipate on anything, she was confused, knowing deep down, what she really wanted was to be with him, though...

'Aren't they just... cute!' said Selphie as she giggled softly trying not to wake anyone up...

Squall opened his eyes slowly, his eyes blurring and realised he was being watched...

Selphie was watching them as she sat on the opposite bed of Squall and Rinoa...

'Cute n' lasy...' Irvine chuckled as he lift his head to look at the bed in front of him, then dropped his head back on his pillow...

'Morning Squall!' said Selphie cheerfully as Irvine pretended to look somewhere else...

'Where's Q-Quistis?' asked Squall as he realised her bed was empty...

'She's out...' said Irvine simply as he laid down and stared at the ceiling.

'Out? Where?' asked Squall a little puzzled as he realised Rinoa was still sleeping peacefully on his chest.

'I think she went to meet up with Xu, it seems like she's brought our old friend back...Ragnarok...my baby!' said Selphie cheerfully as she threw herself on Irvine's chest, making him choke.

'And Zell?' he asked again.

'He went with Quisty...they should be back any moment now...' answered Selphie as she too gazed at the ceiling...

Squall looked down on Rinoa, peacefully sleeping on his chest and stroked her head caringly while Selphie laid down next to Irvine, both of them staring at the ceiling...

'Irvy...I'm hungry...The pilot needs food!' said Selphie as she got up from Irvine's bed and skipped away towards door. 'Coming Irvy?' she asked sweetly as she held the doorknob.

'Yeah yeah...' he smirked as he lift up from the bed and walked out of the room dragging his feet and shutting the door behind him.

Selphie and Irvine left, leaving Squall and Rinoa alone...

Squall leaned his head on Rinoa's and breathe in her sweet vanilla musky scent, closing his eyes as he enjoyed it and kissed her head, making Rinoa moan softly and stretch her arms as she yawned...

'Hmm...Squall...' she said softly as she squeezed her face onto his to kiss him...

Squall just smiled as he gazed into her eyes...

'What?' she said smiling.

'You're beautiful, you know that?' he said under his breath not thinking twice, unconscious he was saying what was on his mind.

Rinoa surprised, kissed him again...

'Feeling better?' he asked smiling.

'Yeah...thanks Squall...' she smiled back.

'Never mind me...Squall, are _you _feeling better?' she asked as she rubbed her face against his.

Squall's chest ached a lot and every time he would move slightly, even breathe it would ache terribly, forcing him to take deep breaths now and then, to avoid him from moaning. On top of it, he felt terrible inside...

'I've never felt better in my whole life...' he lied as he gave her a weak smile.

'Are you sure?' she suspected as she analysed his sad eyes.

Squall had that old stoic look in his eyes again...Rinoa felt as if he were going back to the old Squall who always hid his feelings away from everyone...

'Absolutely...' he lied again as his eyes swerved to the far end of the room...

'I can't take this anymore...she's being too nice to me...I don't deserve this...maybe...maybe I'm exaggerating...maybe Quistis forgot...after all, I just grabbed her hand...I didn't mean to...I'm sure I didn't...'

'What is making your eyes so distant...?' she asked absentmindedly as she tried to force him to look in her eyes...

'Rin, I think we should get going, Q-Quistis will be here soon...' he said trying to change the subject...

'Quitis?' Rinoa asked puzzled.

'Yeah...Xu brought the Ragnarok...' he explained.

'That's great! I love that spaceship...I have good memories about it...' she smiled.

'Yeah...' he said quickly ...

Rinoa observed him carefully...Squall was different...something was on his mind...but what was it?

'Rinoa kissed him, but Squall froze... he didn't kiss her back...there was something wrong with him, yes there was...

'L-Let's go?' he groaned quickly as he lift up slowly from the bed...

'Sure...' Rinoa sighted and got up slowly, watching him with the corner of her eye, suspecting he was still in pain and knowing he was worried about something...

Rinoa kept observing him...

'...w-what?...ugh!...' Squall felt awkward with her staring at him that way as his hand reached out for his chest as he felt it burn...

'You're sore...' she said.

'Not...' he said shortly as he tried to handle the pain of his chest burning...

'Yeah right...' she smiled as she put his arm over her shoulder to help him walk.

'I'm fine, really I am!' he insisted seriously.

'I know you're not...' she looked in his eyes.

Squall felt as if she could tell that it wasn't only the pain that was bothering him, he felt as if she could sense there was something on his mind...this just made him feel worse...

They walked out the door slowly and towards the Hotel's entrance where Selphie and Irvine stood next to Quitis and Zell, who were all waiting patiently...

'Yo! Squall! Here you go!...' Zell threw Squall a new white vest...

'Quisty decided to get you a new one, after destroying your one last night...' Zell smirked as Quistis punched him with her elbow discreetly.

'Thanks...' Squall said shyly a little surprised with her gesture, now feeling even less at ease with her...

As soon as Squall had put it on, they had head towards Dollet's entrance and walked out into the country plains where the beautiful, breath taking huge, blood red Ragnarok awaited them...

'Mama's back!' squeaked Selphie as she ran up to the Ragnarok an entered it through its bottom entrance.

'Guess we shouldn't waist time...' said Quistis still staring at it.

'It's been a while since the last time, huh?' said Irvine smiling as he gazed at it...

'Let's go...' said Squall firmly as he walked towards the Ragnarok and entered it being followed by Rinoa, Zell, Quistis and Irvine...

Selphie sat at the pilot's seat as usual and started the spaceship's noisy engine as it lift up slowly off the ground, preparing to move...

'Where to?' asked Selphie taxi-driver like as she grinned excitedly.

'To Deling City...' commanded Squall firmly...

'Yes Sir!' Selphie saluted and started moving the Ragnarok over the breath taking green country plains...

**To be continued...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7:**

On the journey to Deling City, Selphie would control the flight, as Irvine would sit next to her and tell her silly jokes now and then, trying to make her giggle, succeeding most of the time. Selphie's giggles were the squeakiest you could get; of course Irvine didn't mind them. Actually he didn't mind them at all, he loved her giggles, and it would just make him feel happy to see his little Sefie smile...

'Tee-Hee! We've just past Galbadia's old base thingy! Wasn't that quick! Am I good or am I good!' she said all excited as she sat up straight in the control seat.

'I bet you've beaten the record! Cool! How much longer is it gonna take us to get there?' asked Zell as he approached Selphie and Irvine with his hands in his pant's back pockets.

'Hmmm...let me see...basically the same time it took for us to get past Galbadia's old base thingy...It's almost the same distance...' said Irvine as he looked at the map on the control panel...

And so Selphie flew the Ragnarok all the way threw the continent, past Galbadia Garden's old base and straight to Deling City...

The Ragnarok was now a few yards away from Deling City, where Selphie decided to park it.

'We're here! Wasn't that quick?' she asked very proud of her conducting.

'Yeah... very quick...It felt like a five minute drive...Of course when I'm with you...time flies! 'chuckled Irvine charmingly expecting a kiss or a hug in return, but Selphie never heard him, at least it didn't look like it, she was absolutely distracted as she grabbed her Nunchaku from one of the empty seats and skipped away joyfully, leaving Irvine talking to the wall...Irvine's heart felt frozen...his heart was tired of being bashed around...he needed love...

The comrades made their way out of the Ragnarok and walked towards Deling City...

'Selphie, did ya really have to park the ship so far away!' asked Zell furiously as he walked along next to her...

'Well, I thought it would be better...well...errr...'safety purposes' ...doesn't that mean anything to you!' she said defensively as she tried not to look at him...

'Yeah...don't question the captain...' said Irvine as he put his arm around Selphie.

The guys walked along, Selphie and Irvine behind them.

'Um, Irvy?...err...' started Selphie as she walked along with him...

'Yes, Sefie darling...?' he asked cheerfully...

'I-I've been thinking...' Selphie smiled, hoping Irvine would understand what she was talking about...but before she could go on with the conversation, Irvine got distracted...

'Irvine, I have some ammo here for you, before I forget...here...you know, before we go into Deling City...we better be prepared to fight any creature that comes up...' Quistis interrupted unintentionally as she remembered that she had bought pulse ammo especially for Irvine...

'oh...thanks I was needin' that...Quisty you're an angel!' Irvine accepted the ammo thankfully.

'So...you were sayin'?' Irvine tried to re-establish the conversation with Selphie, but Selphie had lost her courage...she had parked the Ragnarok far away on purpose to try and talk to Irvine. She didn't feel it was the right moment yet...

'Oh, it's nothing Irvy, silly thoughts...that's all...' she said bleakly giving him a cute reassuring smile...

Selphie was actually relieved she didn't have to have that serious talk with Irvine yet, she was still very confused, and really didn't want to do anything wrong...she had to sort out her feelings first...deep down in her heart she knew what she felt...but in such circumstances, with so much pressure and everything, she knew it would be best some other time...

'Ok...' Irvine said as he took his eyes off her and stared at the distance hopelessly...

The walk seemed endless...The country plains as beautiful as they were, green and flowered, they were starting to bore the squad...

'Finally...' said Rinoa as they stopped in front of the car Rental Shop...

'Right, now I think we should divide into two parties, Seifer could be anywhere...' said Squall seriously.

'Who goes with who?' asked Selphie as she looked at all her comrades with a grin on her face...

'I don't know...but each party should be well balanced, after all there are monsters here, and I wouldn't really trust Seifer on that...I really don't think he'd bother to kill all the monsters out of duty...maybe to show off...but never for others safety... 'Said Quistis furiously as she crossed her arms and frowned as her head pictured his awfully sarcastic grin...

'I agree...That asshole would never do anythin' for others, unless it favoured him of course...' said Zell irritated to the thought of having to work with him...

'We shall let the leader decide the party members...' said Quistis.

'I wish she wouldn't say that...I hate it...I just hate it...' thought Squall as a huge frown invaded his face, looking down with his arms crossed...

'Squall? What are you thinking about?' asked Rinoa as she looked at him curiously.

'Nothing...' he said coldly...

'Zell, Selphie, you guys go with Quistis...Irvine, Rinoa...come with me...' he said as he tried not look in any of their eyes...

'Right, now let's get going...' said Quistis as her party ran off with her...

'Let's go and check the Hotel, then...' said Irvine said.

'Yeah...' said Squall absentmindedly as he walked off without them...

Rinoa and Irvine looked at each other as if they thought the same thing...

Squall and his party walked into the Hotel and without saying anything Squall head to receptionist...

'We're SeeDs from Balamb Garden, we were ordered to come and find Seifer Almasy. Have you seen him?' asked Squall vigorously as he showed Seifer's portrait on his IC.

'Err...he ...errr...he was here just now...' said nervously the receptionist...

'Do you know where he went?' asked Squall once more impatiently.

'One of the guys that was with him...err...that big tough guy with the staff...errr...said something about the Mansion...why?' he asked now even more nervous, actually his hands were shaking...

'Thanks...' said Squall as he turned around and walked out the Hotel with his comrades.

'Raijin and Fujin tagging along as usual...' Squall thought...

When Squall reached the Mansion, he was intercepted by a guard. The same guard that had asked them to go to the Tomb of the Unknown King to get proof of their abilities.

'I cannot let you enter, Sir' said the guard as Squall tried to walk through.

'It's urgent...I do not have time to waste...'he said impatiently, forcing his way in...

'But you can't...without permission...you can't enter!' yelled the guard as Squall made his way towards the Mansion's entrance.

'I can't believe you! I live here!...' said Rinoa surprised at the soldiers stupidity, scolding him.

'Miss Heartilly! You're here! You d-don't understand... Captain Caraway has given strict orders to capture...' but before the guard could go on Rinoa had pushed him making the guard stumble and fall backwards...

'These are my guests!' she said strictly as she ran after Squall, Irvine behind her...

'That's it, girl!' chuckled Irvine as he followed her.

'Squall! Behind you!' Rinoa yelled as Raijin prepared to back attack him...

But before Raijin could attack Squall, he turned around and in a blink of an eye, Squall had cast rapture on Raijin, making wings grow on his back and fly away, yelling as he flew away...

'Wow, that was a good one, Squall!' said Irvine impressed as he ran to catch up with him...

Squall entered the Mansion's huge very well lit hallway, filled with golden statues and ornaments that would shine so bright, reflecting the huge diamond Chandelier's light that hung above him.

As Squall walked on gigantic Persian carpet, heading towards the large staircase that would lead to General Caraway's office, he heard footsteps. The footsteps approached him from the back of him, Squall froze...

'Oh...look who has broken in! It looks like you've done all the work for me, haven't you?...

Puberty boy!...' smirked a very familiar sarcastic voice. Squall turned around and looked straight into Seifer's scarred grinning face.

'Headmaster Cid has ordered us to come and fetch you, we must head immediately to Win Hill on a mission...' Squall tried to ignore Seifer's stupid comment as Rinoa and Irvine burst through the door.

'I just beat Fujin! On my own! Woo-hoo!' squeaked Rinoa excitedly...

'Oh, now two jobs done in one day...isn't that good? I'm sure Caraway, will be happy with my work...it will sure be a pleasure to arrest you and punish his naughty little daughter...wont it?...at least the Gil comes in handy...' Seifer smirked as he approached Squall challengingly.

'Shut up you asshole!' said Irvine as he took a step forward raising his Shotgun.

'Rinoa...my daughter...you're here...' said General Caraway as he walked down the staircase and approached Rinoa reaching his arms out to hug her...

'I'm not your daughter...' she said coldly, stepping back, avoiding his touch...

'Is what I heard true? You hired Seifer to arrest Squall and to bring me here against my will!' Rinoa raised her voice slightly and looked at her father in the eyes, her eyes filled with deception and pain...

'Guards!' yelled General Caraway as he stood on the spot staring at Rinoa with a blind smile on his face.

Three very tall and over muscled men in Galbadian Armour had appeared right in front of them...

'Lock her in her room, don't let her out until I tell you so... arrest him...' ordered General Caraway simply as Rinoa tried to escape from the soldier's big hands.

'Let go of me you bully!' groaned Rinoa as she struggled to escape from the soldier's fat arms.

'Squall...RUN!' she yelled as she tried to get back to Squall who was circled by Seifer and the two gigantic soldiers...

'Don't act smart with me now! Don't do anything stupid miss...' said the big soldier as he dragged Rinoa up the wide, carpeted staircase, pulled her all the way through the candle lit corridor to her room, throwing her inside brutally, making her stumble a bit...

'I hate you...' she hissed under her breath.

Rinoa threw herself on her frilly blue sheeted four post bed. Her room was huge and the walls were all delicately painted with a pearly shining, soft, light blue colour.

Meanwhile, the other two gigantic Galbadian soldiers marched in Squall's direction, thumping their feet on the floor as they came.

As the Soldiers reached out their arms to grab Squall, Squall stepped back quickly and drew his Gunblade, making the two unarmed soldiers freeze.

'Come and get me...' smirked Squall as he gave them a dirty look. The soldiers looked at each other decisively and marched right up to him...

In one swing of Squall's Gunblade he grazed both of the gigantic soldiers making them bleed and fall to the floor with a huge and painful looking clump. The soldiers might have looked strong, but were truly very weak and clumsy...they had fallen in one go, once they could barely hold their own weight...

Squall then marched up quickly to Seifer as he held his Gunblade to his neck threateningly.

'You are to come with us to Win Hill...whether you like it or not...' groaned Squall as his face approached Seifer's frightened one.

'S-says who!' asked Seifer as he looked in Squall's cold eyes trying to hide his fear.

'...says Cid...the Headmaster...' groaned Squall once again...

Before Squall knew it, Seifer had drawn his Gunblade out as well and clenched it onto Squall's one challengingly making a sharp sound...

'...I won't take orders from some annoying obedient boy...or from that silly little toy gun specialist farm boy...' smirked Seifer as he gave a provoking look at Irvine who had been knocked to the floor by one of the soldiers...

In response Squall just pushed Seifer's Gunblade with his one, making Seifer surprisingly stumble a few steps backwards as Squall took a fighting position.

'Wanna fight, huh? I'll whoop you out in one go...like I did last time...maybe you'll get another scar...I'll make the opposite direction of the other one, like that you'll have an "X" on your face...would you like that?' smirked Seifer annoyingly as he positioned himself...

Squall kept silent and marched up to Seifer in a split of a second, giving Seifer no time to react.

'Urgh!...' Squall had hit Seifer on his arm making him take a few steps backwards...

Seifer's arm was bleeding and his long coat was getting soaked in blood.

'..I-Is that all you've got!' yelled Seifer furiously as he stretched out his other arm and made a blue and purple light strike out of the palm of his hand, involving him in it and finally flying towards Squall. Seifer cast a Meteor on Squall, the meteorites were falling on Squall hurting him a bit, but he was able to swerve most of the times from the strikes...

Finally it had struck Squall, if he could just knock Seifer out; he could do what he had to do...

'Sleep!' yelled Squall as a blue light whooshed out of his hand and hit Seifer in his stomach.

Seifer fell to the floor unconscious in a loud thump. Seifer might have been stronger this time, but he continued to be weak against poison, just as Squall had guessed...

'Irvine, stay here...watch him for me... cast Sleep on him when he starts gaining consciousness...' said Squall as he dragged Seifer by his coat carelessly next to Irvine, running up the stairs quickly afterwards, two steps at a time...

'And just where you think you're going!' said a horrible slimy voice from behind Squall, making him freeze as he wondered around the huge candle lit corridor looking for Rinoa's room...

Squall turned around quickly and drew once again his Gunblade out...

It was a horrible looking creature...It looked like a huge green slimy disgusting many-legged squid that would let out a disgusting smell.

'That's none of your business...' yelled Squall as he tried to attack the creature...

'I think it is...'said the horrible creature as it swerved its slimy body out of the Gunblade's way.

'You shall give yourself in...' said the creature as its arms waved around slowly...

'I'll kill you first!...' smirked Squall as he marched up the disgusting creature and he raised his Gunblade preparing to slice the monster in half, but before Squall could attack, the squid's head had opened slowly and disgustingly. A slimy blob had raised out slowly out of it's head...

Squall froze when to his surprise the slime had fallen off and Rinoa's unconscious pale face had appeared...

'Rinoa!' yelled Squall as he ran up to her body, involved in the slimy layer, being pushed aside by the giant squid's tentacle, making him fall.

'Let her go!' yelled Squall in panic.

'I see you love her...but...the question is...do you deserve her?' said the horrible creature as it slipped around slimily on the floor. These words affected Squall...

'What do you want!' yelled Squall as he tried to get up...

'I've got what I want...give yourself in...or never see her again...' said the creature as it's crater looking mouth filled with brown sharp teeth moved slowly in the most disgusting way...

'I'll kill you!' yelled Squall as he waved his Gunblade in the air...

'Oh...no you won't...you see...if I die...she dies... you don't want that...or do you?' said the creature trying to make Squall confused.

Squall was confused, he didn't know what to do...He couldn't let Rinoa die...he was seeing himself forced to give in...there was no other way...

'What do you say, young boy? Give in or never see her again...' said the creature's slimy voice...

'Rinoa...' he said under his breath...

'... she goes free!' he yelled as he stared at Rinoa's unconscious pale face covered in the creatures slime...

'It's a deal...You are a smart boy...' said the twice the size of Squall creature started approaching him...its tentacles approaching Squall...

Squall froze as he dropped his Gunblade to the floor, his eyes shut...the creature was letting some kind of black fumes out from its mouth, causing Squall to mesmerize...as memories clouded his mind...all pictures with Rinoa would fade...all happy memories faded...the little times he felt happy...it all faded away...

The fumes would enter Squall's lungs, burning his insides and causing his brain to blank out as the squid's tentacles would wrap around Squall's body, tighter and tighter everytime, preparing to bring him inside the crater Rinoa had came out...

'Noooooooo! Squall, don't! It's a trap! Don't!' screamed a voice from behind Squall.

Squall knew the voice was familiar, but couldn't tell whose voice it was, he couldn't move or talk and he felt as if he couldn't open his eyes, they were heavy...

Quistis ran up to the green squid looking creature and hit him with her chain-whip...

The creature jerked...and started waving it's tentacles around wildly and Squall was being jerked around as if he were a rag doll...

'Let go of him!' yelled Quistis as she opened her hand and cast Firaga on the creature...

The flames came bursting out of Quistis's hand straight into the creature's mouth...

'GRARGH!' the creature was melting as it let Squall fall on the floor in a loud clump...

'You'll pay...grh...' groaned the creature as it melted on the floor making bubbles of air that would form from its slimy surface pop now and then...

'Squall!' yelled Quistis worriedly as she ran up to him and dragged him away from the melting gigantic Squid...

'Squall!' Quistis hissed in panic at him sitting on the floor next to him, slapping his face making him start gaining his senses again...

'Urgh...' Squall eyes opened...and he just stared in her eyes...

'Squall? Are you ok?' asked Quistis worried as she held his head up...

'...' Squall's eyes went sad...bad memories clouded his mind...he didn't say anything...

'It wasn't really her, Squall...it was a trap...a trap to kill you...' gasped Quistis as she looked in his eyes and a tear formed in her eye...

Squall just looked away from her...

'Squall...Rinoa's in her room, she's fine...don't worry about it...' Quistis explained trying to make Squall feel better.

Squall seemed to not be listening at all...he would just stare at the ceiling, his eyes would shine, still frowning...

'Squall...talk to me...please...' Quistis started crying worried that something was wrong with him...

Squall's mouth had opened slightly...

'...failed...again...' Squall's dry lips moved mutely...

Squall had no voice...his lips would just move mutely, no sound came out...

'No, no, no...Squall...that's not true...' cried Quistis as she dropped warm tears on Squall's pale sad face...

Squall just kept on gazing at the ceiling as the candle's light would reflect on his scarred face...

Quistis was overwhelmed by all types of feelings...she was sad because Squall was so down and he had lost his voice...she was happy because he was alive, there in her arms...she was scared something was wrong with him...she was had lost his voice forever...and felt sorry for him...he was feeling so down...his eyes were frightened and sad...

All these emotions made her confused; she looked at Squall and felt great affection for him, his beautiful sad eyes where somehow calling out for help...

Quistis leaned her head next to Squall's and hugged him tightly. Squall just laid there stupefied and confused, not knowing what to do...

'I'm sorry, Quistis...' he thought to himself as he closed his eyes.

Quistis pulled away and looked straight into Squall's eyes. Squall looked back at her...with a frightened look in his eyes...he couldn't talk...he wanted to apologise...say he was sorry for being so harsh with her...he really was sorry...but...before he could think of anything else...

Quistis's face was clenched to Squall's...she was kissing him...her carmine warm lips were moving softly over his...Squall froze...it felt good...but he didn't love her...she was beautiful and he knew her well, but Squall loved Rinoa with all his heart...this wasn't right...Rinoa's face was clouding his mind...his heart would ache with sadness...this wasn't going to change any of his feelings for Rinoa...he just knew on that moment...Rinoa...

Squall pulled away bruttaly and looked in her eyes with great pain...

'Squall...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to...I'm sorry...I don't know what got in to me...I'm sorry...please forgive me...' Quistis gasped as she caught Squall looking at her in her eyes for the second time...

'I'm sorry...' she whispered as she got up slowly, looking at him for the last time and walking away as she started sobbing...

Squall laid his head back on the floor and stared at the ceiling once more...

'I'm such an asshole...I want to die...I don't deserve her...I just don't...this is it know it...I knew everything was too good to be true...' he thought to himself...

'I can't drop out now...I have to take on this mission...I have to put my feelings aside...they can wait...I can't take this anymore...this story of telling people what I feel has just caused me trouble...just like I thought it would...I was right all along...I am alone...and there's no way to avoid it...this thing about love...it just brings more suffering...'

Squall got up, picked his Gunblade up and walked down the corridor, down the stairs and met up with Irvine who was standing over Seifer with his Shotgun pointing at him...

'His been out for some time now...guess sleep magic really affected him...' mumbled Irvine as Selphie, Zell, Quistis and Rinoa came down the stairs silently...

Squall turned around, his back facing them all, picked up Seifer hanging him over his shoulder carelessly and walked out the door silently.

'Rinoa, my daughter...please don't leave me again...please don't go!...' cried General Caraway as he followed her to the door...

'...I'm sorry...I can't stay...my place isn't here...I have nothing to do here...you gave me enough reasons to never speak to you again...goodbye...'

'...but Rinoa! You can't go...this is your home...!' yelled General Caraway as she walked out ignoring her father...

The other comrades went silent staring at each other; accept for Quistis who was staring down at the ground, feeling awful.

'Squall...' Rinoa ran out the door following Squall.

'Are you ok!...Squall...?' she asked as she stared at him worried, wondering what was going in his mind...

'Squall, Quistis told me what happened...' said Rinoa as she walked along with Squall who was just ignoring her.

Squall kept silent to this as his heart started beating faster...he was sure she'd want to end their relationship...he didn't blame her...he knew Rinoa deserved better then him, besides loving her more than he could tell...

'It's ok Squall...you'll be fine...you'll gain your voice in a few hours...don't worry...we've got some Echo Screens...it will help...' said Rinoa trying to make him feel better as she grabbed his arm comfortingly.

Squall's tense heart loosened up to her words, he was glad Quistis had kept silent on what happened, but at the same time he felt sad. He thought that if he would hurt the person he loved all the time, there was no point in being with that person, he felt it wasn't right...he didn't deserve her love...if he was going to hurt her all the time...he might as well be alone...nobody would get hurt that way... he had to put his feelings aside, after all he was the leader of an important mission and couldn't fail at this point...

**To be continued...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 8:**

As Squall walked along with unconscious Seifer on his back towards Deling City's entrance, Irvine, Selphie, Quistis, Zell and Rinoa followed silently behind him.

Squall's heart was soaked in sadness and his head in confusion.

'I'm better off alone...no one gets near me...no one gets hurt...' he thought to himself as he reached the spectacularly fresh green plains, lit by the last few rays of light that shot out from the sunset, and head to the Ragnarok...

'What's wrong with him, Quisty?' asked Selphie innocently as she walked alongside with Quistis who walked looking down.

'He can't talk...he lost his voice...' answered Quistis as she avoided looking at Selphie in her eyes.

'...Never mind him...what's wrong with you?' asked Selphie in a worried tone of voice.

'...I'm fine Selphie, really I am...I'm just tired, that's all...' lied Quistis in a weakly reassuring tone of voice.

'Don't wanna talk about it, huh?' whispered Selphie as she approached Quistis's ear giving her a sweet understanding look...

Quistis nodded as Selphie put her arm around Quistis and gave her a sweet kiss on her cheek.

When finally the comrades reached the Ragnarok, Selphie ran up to the control room before anyone and started the engine immediately.

The comrades remained quite silent during the trip, except for Selphie and Irvine who where having their usual silly funny, loud and giggly talk.

While Squall sat alone on one of the seats as he polished his Gunblade, Quistis read a book, Rinoa twiddled her fingers staring at Squall now and then, worried sick about him as Zell snored as he sat in his seat sleeping like a baby, drooling as usual, with his mouth hanging wide open... Seifer laid unconscious on a seat opposite him, with his arm hanging out limply...

'Uh...' Seifer groaned as he jerked his head a bit and opened his eyes quickly, sat up and looked around nervously.

'Where am I!' he groaned furiously as he looked around nervously and searched for his Gunblade...

Quistis put her book down gently on her seat and walked up to Seifer while everyone else just ignored him.

'You're in Raganrok, a space-ship...you where called on a mission in Win Hill...you resisted, Seifer...Squall had no choice...' she explained calmly as she kept her calm bleak eyes on him. Seifer stared straight in them for a few moments, remaining silent, gazing into her eyes, mesmerized. Seifer had never realised how beautiful Quistis was before, he had never been so close to her before. Her blue stunning eyes glittering behind her elegant glasses and her beautiful cherry red lips move elegantly as she spoke.

After moments of gazing at her beauty, Seifer had finally realised he was being to obvious and so swerved his eyes carelessly, frowning furiously...

'Oh, I see...Squall, the coward of the year, had no guts to fight me 'till the end, huh!' smirked Seifer irritably as he punched the couch furiously, got up and approached Squall slowly (Squall trying his best to ignore him, now polishing his Gunblade ...).

'...scared of getting another scar are you? Talk you idiot!' groaned Seifer as he finally was standing over Squall, Squall still trying to ignore him, this time sweat was forming on the back of his neck and in his armpits. Squall was feeling a great urge to bash Seifer's face in...

'Seifer don't be unreasonable...Squall has no voice...he can't talk...don't bother him, ok?...' scolded Rinoa as she got up from her seat nervously...

'Oh...really! Now besides being a looser like yourself, who can't even finish me off, now you're also a useless mute?' smirked Seifer as he raised his voice on the last words. But before Seifer could even breathe, Squall had lifted up quickly and clenched his Gunblade to Seifer's throat threateningly.

'Try me...' his lips said mutely as a furious look grew in his sea-blue penetrating eyes.

'Squall don't!' screamed Quistis as she ran up to where Squall and Seifer stood.

Seifer was breathing fast, sweat dripping from his face as the veins on his forehead stuck out more then ever, a mix of fury and fear growing inside him...

'Squall...don't do anything that later you might regret...please...' said Rinoa softly trying to keep things cool.

Squall urged to cut Seifer's throat for a long time now, but knew Seifer was unarmed, it would be cowardice from his part if he did... he would be acting just like Seifer, _that_ he didn't want at all...Besides this, his carrier would be at risk, Squall wasn't going to put his his SeeD position at stake because of someone like Seifer...

Squall pulled back his Gunblade brutally, leaving a slight cut on Seifer's neck, Seifer touched his cut and looked at the blood on his hand stupefied...

Seifer kept silent for a few seconds until he gained his breath again...

'I knew he was too cowardly to kill me...' Groaned Seifer not giving in...

Squall just threw himself back on his seat as he leaned his head backwards on the seat and stared at the ceiling as his hair fell back, Squall closed his eyes, breathing slowly, trying to calm down...the pleasant feeling of the soft seat helped a bit, his body started to relax and he fell asleep to the sound of his own breathing...

'Seifer don't start...we don't have time to play the fool...everyone has to be in top condition when we get to Win Hill...we don't know what awaits us there...' said Quistis as she sat back on her seat and picked her book up again...

'Where's my Gunblade!...' groaned Seifer feeling annoyed and humiliated.

'It's kept away...' informed Quistis still holding up her book as she sat down with her legs crossed on her seat...

'Give it to me...' ordered Seifer as he approached Quistis slowly.

'I shall return it to you when we arrive in Win Hill...' stated Quistis tonelessly.

'Give...it...to...me...' said Seifer threateningly as he grabbed Quistis's book out of her hand...

'No.' said Quistis simply as she got up and looked in his eyes seriously. Seifer stared back at her and started feeling weak in his knees as he looked in her eyes. Quistis grabbed her book back and sat down.

'...chicken-wuss and cowardly boy get their weapons and I don't...now that's a failed instructor's measure... no wonder...' said Seifer furiously as he walked away and turned his back to her. Squall and Zell didn't react to this, for they were fast asleep.

'Seifer, don't cross the line...I've kept your weapon due to your unreliable behaviour...you've earned it, Seifer...it's your fault...look at what you've just done...don't criticise me...' said Quistis as she clapped her book on the seat impatiently...

Seifer just snorted and gave her a mocking smile...

The journey seemed endless, especially to Rinoa who was staring at Squall as he slept on the seat opposite her while Seifer just sat on one of the seats peeping at Quistis now and then who was now paging through some papers...

'Quisty, we're less then 200 k's away from Win Hill...I suggest we get ready...' said Irvine as he analysed the control panel.

'Thanks Irvine.'

Squall's eyes opened slowly as he heard Selphie and Irvine talk...

Suddenly, now breaking the silence, a melodic sound came from Squall's jacket. Squall took it out and opened it. Cid's face had appeared.

'Hello Squall. I have heard you are almost reaching Win Hill. I want to wish good luck to all of your comrades and yourself. Is everything in order?'

Squall felt puzzled to this situation, not being able to speak, but before Cid could even ask anything else, Rinoa had grabbed the IC from Squall's hand.

'Oh...hi there Cid...I mean...Headmaster Cid...everything is fine here...just fine...ha ha...' gaggled Rinoa she gave a silly nervous laugh.

'Hi Miss Heartilly. It's a pleasure to be speaking to you...even though you have disrespected strict orders. Are you aware of the worry you have put us all through? When we found out you were missing we were already quite far from Dollet. Fortunately Quistis was responsible enough to warn us you where safe. Why has Squall passed the IC to you?' asked Cid puzzled.

'Oh! No...I'm the one that wanted to see you really...I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for...for...abandoning Garden without warning...you see...I couldn't just stay there knowing I could be helping out my comrades...I really had to come...I'm sorry...' apologised Rinoa .

'It's fine Rinoa. As long as you are with your comrades, you are safe. Your father isn't too happy though. He has already threatened to sue me. But it's nothing serious, don't worry about it...' chuckled Cid as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

'I apologise Headmaster. Really, it wasn't my intention to cause you any trouble. I...I will make sure my father gives up on that idea. I promise.' reassured Rinoa.

'It's fine Rinoa. We have talked, it's settled. He was just a bit nervous when he threatened us. What he really wanted was to bring you back home with him and when he realised you had gone, he lost control.'

'I knew it. He thinks he can hold me down all my life. He thinks he can still lock me in my room as if I where still ten...Please Headmaster...I know I can help...please let me fight...I can do it...please don't tell my father I'm going to Win Hill...he will hunt me down in no time and maybe even make things worse...you don't know my father, he will do anything to get me back...' gasped Rinoa as she walked up and down.

'I won't. If he knew, this mission would loose all its chances in working out, so as you see, I have no choice.' said Headmaster Cid vigorously.

'Thank you Headmaster!' said Rinoa relieved.

'Don't thank me. There's no other way. Now could you tell me if everything's alright? Is there any problem? Can I speak with Squall?'

'Squall is fine. He is just...very busy right now...that's all. Uh...Is there anything he should know?' gasped Rinoa nervously as she tried to cover up for Squall.

'Yes, actually I'd like you to wish all of you the best of luck and tell Squall I wish to speak to him when you arrive in Win Hill...Bye now...' finished Cid as he switched the IC off.

Rinoa gave the IC back to Squall, holding on his hand as she passed it to him, giving him a cute smile. Squall's heart beat faster, but he swerved his eyes quickly, trying not to fall in the temptation of smiling back...

Rinoa felt a bit odd, she didn't know what was on Squall's mind, she didn't understand why he was being so cold to her...

'We really have to do something quick. We are almost there and Squall s can't talk...If Cid finds out...Squall have you been taking any Echo Screens?' asked Quistis concerned as she avoided looking at him in his eyes.

Squall nodded.

'I know!...maybe I should try using my powers to cure him...!' suggested Rinoa as a great smile grew across her pretty face.

'I don't know...it's a bit risky...you don't really know how to handle them yet...you might just end up making things worse...' mumbled Quistis as she sat down on her seat as she thought.

'It's not like I'm going to hurt him...I would never ever hurt him...I'm sure I can do this...' cried out Rinoa, unhappy with Quistis's comment...

Squall eyes widened and then looked down again...

'I wish she would...I deserve it...' he thought.

'I'm going to try...' said Rinoa firmly as she approached Squall, Squall trying not to look at her.

Rinoa grabbed his hand and forced him to get up...Squall blushing madly with his eyes looking around trying to avoid her.

'I'm going to make it...' Rinoa said confidently.

Squall just stood in front of her all puzzled as she placed her comforting silky hands on his throat as if she was going to choke him.

'This is too good already...just hurt me or something!' he thought.

Rinoa closed her eyes and concentrated...

Suddenly, out of her hands came out a warm sensation, as Squall just stared at Rinoa's face (she didn't know) as she concentrated deeply. Squall felt a warm felling inside his throat that took away the dry sensation he had in his throat before...

Rinoa opened her eyes and blinked a few times...

'Did it work!' she asked as she placed both of her hands on Squall's face and looked him in his eyes lovingly.

'Yeah...' groaned Squall as he cleared his throat and took Rinoa's hands of his face gently...

'Thanks...' he mumbled as he turned around and walked up to one of the wide windows.

'You're welcome...' she mumbled back at him in the same tone he used.

'...Ok...I guess that's done...thank you Rinoa...I'm sorry for trying to discourage you...I was just worried...' apologised Quistis as she approached Rinoa and put her hand on her shoulder.

'It's ok...' she mumbled giving Quistis a weak smile, walking back to her seat as she stared at Squall, who was staring out the window with his Gunblade on his shoulder.

'Tee-hee! We're are almost, almost there!' yelled Selphie all enthusiastic.

'Won't you shut up! You've told us that one hour ago...' yelled Seifer furiously as he banged his hand on the his seat impatiently.

'Yo...Bully! Who do ya think ya talking to, huh!' Zell groaned angrily at Seifer's disgusting attitude.

'The same for you chicken-wuss!' yelled Seifer as he relaxed his arms around the seat and grinned at Zell.

'WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!' Zell got up and marched up where Seifer stood, but before he could start punching Seifer's face, Squall had got up and grabbed Zell by his jacket.

'Zell...It's not worth it...just ignore him...' mumbled Squall as Zell struggled and started punching the air.

Seifer just laughed out loud, trying to provoke Zell again.

'Squall... could you come and help me ...' asked Quistis as she got up from her seat.

'Um, Selphie stop the Ragnarok a few yards away when we are close...we don't want to be seen...' asked Quistis gently as she approached Selphie and Irvine.

'Got it!' answered Selphie as she pulled a leaver and made the ship swerve brutally, making everyone who was standing stumble.

Squall got up, head to the elevator's platform with her, Rinoa looking at him with the corner of her eye...

'Help? With what?' he asked getting puzzled.

'You'll see...this way...' she said as she walked off the elevator's platform and through the door on the right...

Quistis lead Squall to some kind of store room.

'I need your help to open this volt...' she said as she clapped the volt's door...

'...' Squall started turning the volts wheel around, opening it as a compressed air sound came out of it...

'Thanks...it's Seifer's Gunblade...I was a bit worried he'd find it...' she chuckled nervously...

'... is that all?' he asked surprised.

'Yeah...basically...' she said as she closed the volt.

'You've just closed it on your own...' said Squall as he looked in shock at her...

'Oh...errr...well it's much easier to close it...um...oh...who am I kidding?...Squall the truth is...I...I...have to talk to you...it was the only way...' she said nervously...

''bout what...?' groaned Squall coolly as he unfolded his arms and held Seifer's Gunblade over his shoulder, looking disturbed as he started walking towards the control room...

'well...um...this is very hard for me...I don't really know where to start ...you're not making this very easy for you stop a bit!' gasped Quistis as she tried to keep up with him...

'...when you find out what you wanna talk about...tell me...don't really have patience for chit chatting right now...can't afford to waste time on this mission...' groaned Squall coldly as he kept on walking really trying to avoid the conversation, guessing already what it was about...

'...You're right...It's ok...I don't think I have much to tell you...it's stupid anyway...what happened in Rinoa's house will never have as much importance to you as it has for me...your love for her will never fade...will it? I'm a fool to think I'd ever have a...chance...' chuckled Quistis nervously as she kept up with Squall...Squall got the chills making his armpits get a nervous irritating twitching sensation...he couldn't stand it anymore...he burst...

Squall stopped turned around to her...

'Stop it!' he yelled as he grabbed Quistis by her arms and shook her, dropping Seifer's Gunblade on the floor, making an awfully sharp sound...

'Why are you doing this!...What did I do to you!' he asked lowering down his voice as his eyes widened nervously...

'Nothing!...you haven't done anything... it's me!...I-I'm sorry, Squall...I didn't mean to disturb you...I'm sorry...' gaggled Quistis nervously. She was frightened, she had never seen Squall this disturbed...his eyes were wide open, staring in her's uncomfortably... just thinking it had been her that had caused it...this made her feel even worse...

'Well you did! You made me confused...I don't know what to think anymore! I can't even look at you straight anymore...why are you doing this!...why!' he asked furiously clenching his teeth as he spoke shaking her once more.

'Squall...I can't help the way I feel...I-It's hard...I couldn't hide it any longer...I had to...'

'Quistis...I don't wanna hurt you...really...I don't...but I _don't _love you...' he lowered his voice nervously...

Quistis's eyes went so sad it made Squall's heart ache...she struggled to keep them open but tried to look at him straight... he let go of her and turned around, not being able to look at her anymore as he slapped his head with his hand and stared at the metal floor...

'I'm sorry...I don't like you the way you want me to...I just don't...please d-don't cry...' he groaned softly as he heard Quistis starting to sob...

'I'm not crying...I'm fine...it's ok...I had to hear that one day or another...it's right...now I know for sure...my conscience is lighter now...I don't have to think about any longer...thank you for being patient with me Squall, really I appreciate it...now I can carry on...it's hard...but it's for the best...' murmured Quistis as she whipped away tears from her beautiful blue eyes and pat Squall on his back softly who had still his back faced to her...

'I'm sorry...' he groaned as Quistis stood there with her hand on his back...

'It's ok, it's not your fault, by the contrary...it's mine...I'm the one who should've controlled my feelings...as an instructor...it just proves that I have failed as an instructor...now I see what Seifer meant...besides being an awfully undisciplined student, he does know what he sees...' sighted Quistis. She returned back to the control room where all the others were, leaving Squall alone...

'...what did I do...? Is she gonna be Ok.? I just couldn't take it anymore...I'm so stupid...stupid!...can't believe this...' he thought to himself as he stood on the same spot still holding his head with his hand. He stood there for a few minutes thinking of what he had done, finally pulled himself together, picked up Seifer's sword and walked towards the control room...

'Maybe it's better this way...nothing to hide anymore...everything is clear...I don't feel anything for her...now I'm really sure...' he thought as he walked into the elevator's room as the whole spaceship jerked violently, making him stumble a bit...

'Can't believe I wasn't sure of my feelings...I'm a jerk...' he thought as he punched the metal automatic door, making him gasp of pain...leaving a huge dent in the door...

'It's done!' sighted Selphie as the Ragnarok started making its way down slowly to the ground, as Squall entered the room and threw Seifer's weapon at him, who gave him a challenging look.

'What was that!' yelled Zell nervously who was lifting up from the floor, after having a nice fall.

'We're here!' Squeaked Selphie enthusiastically.

'Thank goodness!' sighted Rinoa who lift up from her seat and walked slowly towards Selphie and Irvine who where now relaxing in their seats.

Squall took his IC from the inside of his jacket, opened it and dialled a few buttons as he sat on his seat.

'Greetings Headmaster Cid, we have arrived. What are your orders?' he asked vigorously.

'Hi there! Thanks for warning me, Squall. Um...Your orders...Well, to be concise...you shall enter the town through the river side...'

'Huh? Through the river! How!' asked Irvine indigenised as he approached Squall.

'Well, we don't have a vessel or anything that floats, so I suppose we're gonna have to swim...huh?' thought Selphie out loud with a worried look to her face.

'You have to enter the river through the west side of the town and swim all the way east. It's the only way you won't be seen...as you swim towards east you'll see a tiny wooden cabin built above the river, it's a fisherman cabin. When you arrive there you'll have to give them a password. There you'll receive your disguises and orders, you'll be accompanied by some more people that are going to help you on this mission. '

'More people?' asked Irvine.

'Well, you may be SeeDs, but you haven't been to Win Hill yet, have you? The people that offered to help you are very familiar with that place...I'm sure you'll get along...' answered Cid still smiling.

'I really have to go now...I don't have much time...' said Headmaster Cid in a hurry as he looked away for a second.

'...but...' started Squall, trying to avoid Cid from turning the IC off before he could clear out his doubts.

'By the way...when you reach the cabin, knock on the door. They'll ask you a question and you'll have to answer "because the owls have flown away" ...it's the password. Please don't look at me like that, they insisted on having that password...Good Luck!' chuckled Cid as he switched the IC off without saying any other word.

'I can't believe I'm on such a pathetic mission...' groaned Seifer as he got up from his seat and walked out the control room.

'Don't worry about him, he won't go anywhere, I've locked the exit door.' said Quistis confidently as she looked at Rinoa and Zell's worried faces.

'Ha! I just wanna see his face when he realises he can't get out without us.' Smirked Zell as he jumped off his seat joyfully, stuck his hands in his pockets and marched up to the window and looked out at the view.

'Right, let's get going.' said Squall as he kept his Gunblade in his sheath and walked out of the control room being followed by Zell, Quistis, Rinoa, Irvine and Selphie.

'Isn't that sweet...? Seifer has decided to wait for us...what a darling...!' smirked Zell sarcastically as the group came across Seifer who was leaning against the wall with his arms and legs crossed, looking very annoyed.

'Don't wanna get blue chicken-wuss...' groaned Seifer as he continued where he was...

'WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!' freaked out Zell who marched up Seifer and started punching inches away from his face, Seifer just pushed him away, making Zell stumble and fall on the floor.

'Asshole!' groaned Zell as he got up and straightened his jacket.

'Now don't start you two!' said Quistis getting irritated with their childish behaviour.

'The door is... hot...' started Quistis as she entered the code to open the exit door.

'Seifer!...How dare you try and force the exit door open with magic! Are you out of your mind? Do you know what kind of damage you could have caused, luckily this material is resistant...we could have been stuck in here because of your brainless behaviour! This ship could have exploded! Don't you ever think!' yelled Quistis at Seifer as the door opened slowly and the green plains appeared...

'...who do you think you are to yell at me? I won't take any sort of lecture from such a failed, insignificant instructor like yourself...get out of the way...' groaned Seifer as he gave her a dirty look and walked out pushing Selphie out of the way brutally...

'Oh...Quisty...why does that Seifer have to be so mean! ...he's a real bully!...' sighted Selphie impatiently...

'...let's just go...' sighted Quistis as she walked out quickly, Zell following her...

'Right...' said Selphie as she followed Quistis, grabbing Irvine's hand and dragging him behind her...

'Whoa...!' Irvine was caught by surprise as he almost flew out of the exit door, Selphie giggling as usual...

'Squall!...' Rinoa marched up Squall and pushed him against the wall as she forced him to look straight in her eyes.

Squall was surprised at her gesture, but he was used to being surprised by her...she was so spontaneous...that's what he loved about her. Squall's eyes were wondering around her face in panic as his mouth dropped slightly open in surprise...

'So!' asked Rinoa looking at him as if she awaited an explanation.

'...what!' asked Squall trying to avoid looking in her eyes as he stood against the ship's wall, Rinoa forcing him tightly against it with all the strength in her thin delicate arms...

'...it's in your eyes, Squall...that look...it's cold...you're not looking in my eyes anymore...you can't hide it anymore, Squall...you have no choice...now spit it out or I'll...I'll...' threatened as the look in her eyes softened and shinned caringly, loosening him from the wall a bit, still leaning against him ...

'...nothing...' groaned Squall as he looked in her eyes coldly...

'...what did I do? Are you mad at me!...whatever I did, Squall...I-I'm sorry! Please Squall don't do this to me...I know you love me...and I love you...you can't give up on us now!...we've just started something special together!...whatever is on your mind...it's wrong...you're thinking like you used to...don't!... 'Rinoa was almost bursting into tears out of desperation...

'I love you too...but I can't tell you right now...I'll hurt you...you shouldn't love me...I'm not for you...I'm...bad...' Squall thought as he looked passionately in Rinoa's eyes...

'I don't understand...what are you trying to tell me...?' Rinoa started sobbing as her eyes flooded in tears...this broke Squall's heart.

Squall kept on looking in her eyes as if he couldn't help it as his mouth dropped open slightly...

'I...I...I... don't wanna hurt you...I can't...' whispered Squall still gazing in her eyes.

'Hurt me?...you've never hurt me...what are you talking about!' Rinoa started feeling puzzled as she tried to wipe away the tears in her eyes with her thumbs...

'Rinoa...don't do this to me...I'm trying my best...I really am...but...you're making things hard...' Squall placed his hand on his forehead as he looked at the ceiling; frustrated, not knowing what to do anymore...not knowing what was the right thing to do...

'I don't understand...really I don't...what is happening to us?...Huh?' she questioned rhetorically still gazing at him lovingly and with such a understanding and patient look in her eyes...her heart was thumping violently out of a mix of very strong emotions...

Squall looked down, his eyes were the saddest she had ever seen...

'...It's ok, Squall... you don't have to tell me right now...I'm with you no matter what...I'm by your side, remember that...' Rinoa said putting her arms around his neck gently...

Squall looked back down at her, her dark eyes glittering with love for him...the most beautiful sight...her face damp with tears closing in on his...

'...don't...' Squall whispered as their faces where millimetres apart from a kiss, his heart beating faster, his breathing accelerating, their lips hardly touched, their mouths had some kind of invisible bond that seemed to pull them together, but Squall tried to resist...

'...fine...fine...I don't understand...but I accept...because I love you and...this love won't break for anything or anyone...I'm on your side...no matter what...I better go...' Rinoa said softly as she looked down in sadness and pulled away slowly from Squall as she passed her warm, soft and comforting hand on his face, making him go crazy with desire of touching her...

Squall never hesitated on that moment...what he felt like doing for some time now...his heart pounding with guiltiness and fear...he wasn't going to let her take one more step with her heart broken...it made no sense...this whole attitude thing was stupid...

Squall grabbed Rinoa's hand and pulled her towards him as she prepared to abandon the ship...

Rinoa looked quite surprised, her widened eyes still glittering with tiny tears that never had a chance to blossom out of her eyes...

Squall grabbed her head lovingly with both of his hands as his Gunblade fell to the ground making a loud sharp sound that echoed for a few seconds in the air...

Squall approached his face slowly to Rinoa's and passionately kissed her...Squall had never kissed her like this before, this kiss was different...it was a desperate one, a faster one...it felt as if it was the last time he'd kiss her...you could almost say he put all his soul in that kiss...he wanted to say he was sorry, that he loved her...that he wanted to be with her for all his life...he didn't want to ever let go of her...

Rinoa's heart beating as fast as ever...she just enjoyed his touch so much...there was nothing more comforting, at that moment it was all she wanted...she didn't ever want to let go of him...that's all she knew...

'Ahem...Shouldn't we get going!' chuckled Selphie in her cute playful tone of voice.

Selphie giggled as Squall parted quickly from Rinoa, covering his mouth with his hand for an instant as he felt his cheeks go blood red, he tried to hide his embarrassment by picking up his Gunblade, swinging it over his shoulder and walking out quickly before Selphie and Rinoa could say anything...

'Oh...Selphie...I'm so happy...' sighted Rinoa softly as she gave Selphie a dreamy smile, grabbed her arm and walked out with her cheerfully...

**To be continued...**


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 9:**

Once the comrades had all abandoned the Ragnarok, Squall had taken his IC out of his jacket pocket, pushed the campus button and walked silently west of the ship...

'This way guys...we're heading west...' said Quistis as she stood next to Seifer who was standing against a tree with his arms crossed, with his head faced down...

Quistis wondered why Seifer treated everyone so badly; maybe he had been through a very hard time just like Squall and maybe had the same stoic ideas in his head...or maybe he was just mean...Quistis was tired of being treated like his enemy, she really thought it was unnecessary having such a difficult relationship. She had been thinking of this the whole journey...the way he looked at her when he woke up; she saw something in his eyes she had never seen before...now was the opportunity to break the ice...

'Seifer...' sighted Quistis, looking at him innocently.

Seifer looked up with an angry look on his face...

'Walk with me?' she asked sweetly as a look of hatred grew upon Seifer's scarred face...

'Are you def? I don't take orders from...' he started groaning, but before he could go on...

'I'm not ordering you around...I'm asking you to...not as an instructor...as a friend...as a comrade...whatever suits you...' she explained.

'A friend...huh?...' he mocked as he rolled his eyes.

'Please?...' she insisted...

'Instructor Trepe begging me to walk with her...hmm...In that case...if it really makes a difference in your miserable life...' he sneered as he walked along with her...

'Yes it does...but my life isn't miserable ok?' she talked back.

'I'm walkin'...what do you want!' he groaned.

'Nothing really...just wanted you to walk with me...' she answered as she gave him a cute smile...

'I see...' he said as a mischief naughty smile grew upon his face...

After a few minutes of walking behind the other comrades Quistis finally broke the silence...

'...why do you hate me so much...? I mean...Sincerely...what is it that I have done...to make you so...so...unfriendly towards me?' she asked calmly and unexpectedly...

' Huh...don't kid around wit me, k? I have better things to do than play stupid games with...' he smirked as he avoided eye contact...

'I'm not "kidding" with you...! Now tell me what is it that makes you hate me so much...I need to know...so I can change...you know?' she tried to convince him to answer...

'Well if it makes you so happy to know how annoying you are...then I'll tell ya...yeah...huh!...your case is so bad...so bad, I'm tellin' ya...its irreversible...he he he...' he smirked as he gave her a sarcastic smile and walked away from her carelessly...

'He is so bitter...' Quistis said under her breath as she watched walk away from her...

'I tried to break the ice with him...but he really hates me ...what makes him hate me so much!...I was nice to him, I wasn't bossy or anything...I don't understand...Maybe it's no use...I really can't get through to him...being nice isn't the solution...He's a lost case...' she thought as she walked along with the others and stared at Seifer who was walking coolly a few feet away from the group with his Gunblade on his shoulder...

After half an hour of walking and walking, Squall and his comrades had finally reached a beautiful river side where daisies grew in millions and butterflies flew around in groups...it was a tranquilizing sight...everything looked so perfect, the air carried around the most beautiful sweet aroma of spring...

'It's here..."west side of the River"...' said Squall as he gazed across the river. On the other side of the river, far away, he could see trees...it was Win Hill...

'It's beautiful...this place is amazing...It reminds me of Edea's orphanage...I could spend the rest of my days here...' thought Rinoa out loud as she stood next to Squall, holding tight onto his arm who was already standing on the recently wet little pebble stones that made their way into the crystal clear river...

'We have to swim across...' said Squall absentmindedly, as he took his jacket off quickly and his vest...

'...great abs!' whispered Rinoa as she approached Squall and tickled his abdomen.

Squall couldn't fake a smile that rose from one of the corner of his lips as he went on walking deeper into the river...

Zell, Irvine and Seifer took off the clothes that covered their chest as well.

'Hey Irvine...I think ya forgot to take ya hat off!' chuckled Zell who pointed at Irvine's head...

'Can't leave it behind...it's part of me...' he mumbled as he pat his hat gently...

Zell ran into the water excitedly and dived in, stroking his arms energetically...

Squall and Irvine waited for the girls to dive in while Seifer just went on along with Zell deeper in the water...

'...what's wrong Selphie...? C'mon...! We can't delay no more...' scolded Irvine who was now pulling Selphie into the water...

'No, no, no...! I can't...' squeaked Selphie as she shook the water off her feet as she backed out...

'Huh!...' Irvine was getting confused.

'I have to stay behind...' she mumbled as she sat down on the pebbles with her arms around her legs...

'Hey...don't play around...you're comin' with us...!' Irvine insisted.

'Selphie...don't tell me ...' said Squall in disbelief as he placed his hand on his forehead...

'...What are you sayin' ? C'mon...! We have to go...no time for throwing a tantrum...!'

'I can't...I can't s-swim...I can't swim...!' she cried out as she looked at Irvine with shame...

'Oh...I umm...I forgot...these GF's really have awful side effects...! It's been a long time since then, eh...?' chuckled Irvine as he rubbed his nose, trying to hide the smile on his face...

'...don't laugh at me! It's not funny! I could've drowned that day, if Quistis hadn't been there to save me...!' she yelled furiously.

'I'm sorry...' sniggered Irvine...

'You better be...I'm sorry, Squall...I know I'm a pain in the butt, but I have to stay...I really can't go...I'm traumatised! ' she underlined the last words as she gave Irvine a dirty look.

'You coming with us...there's no way you are staying behind...we need you on this mission...' said Squall determinedly.

'But I can't go...I'm not going...I'm sorry...' mumbled Selphie as she waved her hands to try and explain...

Squall looked decisively at Irvine who shrug his shoulders, then at Quistis who just winked her eye and then at Selphie who gave him a puppy look ...

'...Whatever...fine...you can stay...but you're not going to sit down there all day are you?...I suggest you head back to the Ragnarok, it's safer in there...' said Squall as he walked up to her and reached out his hand to help her lift up...

Selphie smiled pleased at what she heard, quite surprised though...

'You're too kind...Whoa!' but before she could lift up completely, Squall had grabbed her by her legs and thrown her over his shoulder, making her squeak so loudly it would hurt his ears-drums...

'Squall! You cheat! Put me down! I'm not going! I have to stay! I can't swim! I hate water!'

'...it's settled Selphie...you're coming with us whether you can swim or not...' said Squall seriously...

'Can you take care of her, Irvine!' asked Squall as he passed Selphie (who was struggling and kicking her legs around and squealing) from his shoulder to Irvine's.

'No...' gasped Selphie bleakly...

'C'mon...Selphie don't make things difficult...imagine I'm a boat and you're the captain...he he!' chuckled Irvine slapping her on her bottom...

Irvine now walked straight into the water with Selphie on his shoulder, looking worried...

'Hang on my back...it's gonna be fine, I won't drown you this time...this is gonna be some ride...woo-hoo!' said Irvine as he put Selphie down...

'Alright...Just don't try anything funny, ok?' Selphie changed her mind, hoping she could trust Irvine...

Selphie hopped onto his back and Irvine made his way into the deepest part of the river, started swimming, Selphie on his back...

'C'mon!...' said Quistis as she ran towards the water and dived in...

Rinoa looked at Squall, winked her eye at him and yanked him by his arm as she started running towards the deep part of the river...

The comrades swam and swam and swam...the only thing they could hear was the water splashing as they stroked their arms and each others breathing...the other side of the river seemed to slip away as they swam...at some point the trees started to draw nearer and nearer...and finally when the trees were close enough, they saw hidden between the bushes a tiny little old wooden cabin that stood on wooden pillars above the river.

'This must be it...' said Quistis as she swam past Seifer and reached the platform, pulling herself up...helping Rinoa out of the water, then Selphie...When everyone was on the platform, Squall knocked on the door...

'Just a second...Err...Why is the forest so silent!' said a man's familiar voice from in the tiny little cabin.

'Err...because the owls have flown away...' groaned Squall...

'He he!...is that cool or is that cool!' said the voice as the door opened with a click...

'Zone!' squeaked Rinoa as she threw herself at the guy...

'The princess is here!' yelled Zone as he hugged Rinoa tightly...

'Cool! The Forest Owls are back!' yelled Watt who appeared at the door a moment later as Rinoa hung her arm around him too...

'I'm so happy to see you!' cried Rinoa as her eyes glittered lovingly...

Squall started to feel a little weird...a weird feeling of wanting to grab Rinoa away from Zone and Watt...he felt foolish and tried to ignore it...

'Come in! Come in!' said Zone enthusiastically as he waved his hand towards the entrance proudly...

'It's a real pleasure to be working with you once again Squall!' said Watt as he reached his hand out for a hand shake, shaking Squall's hand repeatedly as he looked at Squall with amazement, wide smile...

When Watt had finally let go of Squall's hand, Squall walked in. The cabin actually looked bigger inside rather from the outside, it had an untidy bed (the sheets looked kind of dirty) in the far left corner next to a tiny window, a table against the wall in the middle with two chairs hipped on it, a little cupboard with a stone sink built in and a tiny salamander-stove that stood next to it. The floor was made of wood, as well as the walls and the ceiling (very bad state) and the cabin had a strong smell of mouldy. Squall looked at the far right corner and saw Laguna, who was sitting in a chair next to the window with his arms crossed (apparently sleeping)...He had some weird green clothes on...

'It's a pleasure meeting you again, Squall...' said Kiros smiling as he and Ward stood next Laguna in his chair...

Ward slapped Laguna on his face, making him jerk and look up straight into Squall's face...

Laguna's mouth dropped open as his eyes widened, smiling afterwards.

'Squall...how's it going, man!' said Laguna, clearing his voice as he lift up from his chair and approached Squall.

Squall looked at his comrades who were all talking to one another...(Seifer sulking in a corner)...this made him feel relieved somehow...

'...put it there...!' said Laguna cheerfully as he reached his hand out and smiled.

Squall reached to shake Laguna's hand, Laguna slapped his hand on Squall's pulling him closer and put his arm around him in a guy to guy hug as he pat Squall's back eagerly...

Squall was absolutely not used to being greeted that way...

'That was some fight, huh? I'm sorry for not being there at the party...must've rocked, huh?' said Laguna cheerfully as a great smile insisted on marking his face...Squall just stood there a little puzzled, not knowing what to say...though he had been Laguna several times in those dream connections, they had only met once and Laguna was so friendly with him, it seemed like they had known each other for long... Squall wasn't very at ease with Laguna, especially because of what he had heard Ellone, Kiros and Ward say on his last mission...deep down Squall felt Laguna and himself had some kind of bond, but didn't want at all to admit it...much less to think about it...he tried his best not to think about it, he didn't want to know, it made him feel weird...

'Yeah...I guess...' mumbled Squall a few moments later...

'Right, let's get to the point...' said Kiros trying to remind Laguna of something...

'Oh...yeah, yeah...right...umm...' remembered Laguna now turning around quickly...

'Ok... the mission...' said Laguna, clearing his throat as Rinoa and Squall looked at each other...

'Let me see...err...' started Laguna scratching his head as everyone stood with a lot of attention...staring at Laguna expecting him to start at any moment...

'The disguises...' said Kiros...

'Oh yeah...your disguises...yeah...here...for the guys...' said Laguna nervously as he grabbed a pile of folded green clothes from the table and started throwing it to each one of the boys...

'For the girls...' he said as he started handing them to Rinoa, Quistis and Selphie...

'Oh, great ! Goody! We don't have to wear these wet, mouldy clothes...! I was getting kind of cold...' said Selphie as she brought the folded green cloth to her face...

'Oh, my...!' said Rinoa in disbelief as she saw Zell unfold his clothes...

'Any problem, Rinoa?' Laguna asked casually...

'No...not at all...' she replied.

'Oh, and these are the "accessories"...protection gear...' said Laguna as he threw a leather bag to Squall.

Squall untied the string that tied the bag closed and saw leather brown belts, metal knee, shoulder and elbow caps, some weird gadgets...

'These guys are weird...they dress like freaks...' said Zell as he held dark green leather waistcoat in the air, staring at it with distaste...

'Yeah they're the forest people...and that goes with the belt...' said Laguna staring at the comrades...

'This sweater is kind of tight...' said Irvine as he tried to put on a moss green sweater with tiny leaf embroidery on it...

'Hey guys, just put the clothes on and don't fuss...we're on a mission...' said Squall who passed the gear to all his comrades...

'Ahem...guys...leave the house...please...' said Rinoa who held the clothes in her hands and looked strictly at the boys...

'Huh? Why!...' asked Zell puzzled...

'So we can get dressed, of course...you weren't expecting us, girls to get undressed in front you, guys...where you?...now, if you don't mind?' she answered amazed.

'Of course not...Sorry...we'll leave right away...'said Squall a little puzzled as he opened the door and left the cabin...

'What if I mind!' said Seifer who was leaning against the wall as he threw his clothes on the bed...

'Seifer, the guys get dressed outside, the girls get dressed inside... if you are a girl you'll stay...if you're a guy you'll go...now if you have any doubts whether you're a guy or a girl, I'm sorry...I can't help you...it's as simple as that...got it?' said Rinoa ironically as she gave him a challenging look...

Selphie and Quistis started giggling...

Seifer picked his clothes up viciously and left the cabin, banging the door furiously as he left...

'That was a good one Rinoa...' chuckled Laguna as he left the house with Ward, Kiros, Zone and Watt...

Once the girls got dressed, Rinoa had opened the tiny little window...

'The Cabin is available now...' she said sweetly as she opened the window gently and peeped out...

Her eyes caught sight of Squall...He looked gorgeous...

Squall was wearing a dark green suede waistcoat (worn with a brown leather belt) with a hood on his head (a black cloth wrapped around his nose and his mouth, his blue eyes shown through), a tight moss green sweater under the waistcoat with a elegant "V" neck (showing some of his chest- his griever shinning gloriously on his chest), dark green pants worn with dark brown suede knee-high boots (that were worn over the pants). He had some metal (brass) blade looking knee-caps and the same looking caps on his shoulders and elbows...on his back he had a brown leather sack with arrows sticking out strapped in a "X" across his chest, his Ginblade in his sheath and his usual black gloves on his hands...

Squall was leaning against a wooden pillar staring at Zell struggle to put on his waistcoat, Irvine trying to help...

Then she looked at Seifer, who was still dressed in his normal clothes...leaning against the opposite pillar as Squall, back faced to him, staring into the river, throwing little pebbles he had taken from a little vase that stood next to the cabin's door...

'Seifer why aren't you dressed?' asked Selphie who skipped her way out the door...

'He he...I bet he needs help...' groaned Zell who was wrapping the black cloth around his face...

'I won't put does ridiculous rags on...I can do this mission very well without disguises...I don't need to hide...' smirked Seifer as he gave a challenging look at Squall, his eyes shinning with rage...

'You better get dressed Seifer, or we'll be forced to leave you behind...Headmaster Cid asked us to bring you along, not to give us trouble, but to help us...if you are too proud to where does clothes then I'm afraid you're in the wrong place...' explained Quistis clearly as she walked out of the cabin and stood in front of him...

Seifer turned around and got a quick glance at her...she looked beautiful...her eyes shinning from underneath her hood and some of her golden hair shinning next to her face...

Seifer felt affected by her words, he felt weird...Seifer grabbed the clothes from the floor which he had thrown on the floor and entered the cabin rushing by Rinoa brutally as she walked out of the cabin , who stared at him in shock as he shut the door loudly...

'Looks like we're gonna have problems...' mumbled Irvine as he put his cowboy hat on his head...

'Errr...Irvine take that off...' said Laguna.

'Huh? Why?...' wondered Irvine...

'Dude, I think that would catch the enemy's sight a bit...no?' said Laguna as he scratched his head...

'Oh...man!' whined Irvine as he grabbed the hat off his head furiously...

Rinoa walked up to Squall, who was still leaning against the pillar, with his legs crossed as he stared at a little leaf he was holding...

As soon as he felt Rinoa's presence he looked up in surprise...She looked amazing...She was wearing a dark green suede long sweater (the same "V" neck) with a hood on her head , using a brown belt around her hips (worn over the sweater), a black cloth wrapped around her face as well, dark green pants, dark brown suede knee-high boots that were worn over her pants...She wore the same brass blade looking knee, elbow and shoulder caps, except that around her waist she wore a brass blade looking corset ...She looked so cute...Squall felt like hugging her tightly, but controlled his instincts...

'Hi...' she said shyly as she looked at him with the sweetest expression on her face...

Squall gave her a tiny shy smile from the corner of his mouth as he looked back down at the little leave he was holding...

Rinoa knew Squall wasn't really at ease around the other comrades and so passed her hand on his shoulder and walked back to the other girls...

'Ok...everyone's ready...? Ok now it's time to take action...I'm gonna give each one of you one of these...' said Laguna as he raised a tiny little bean shaped object between his fingers...

'...and what's that for?...' asked Irvine as he approached Laguna to get a proper look at the object...

With out saying any word, Laguna grabbed hold of Irvine, pulling him by his arm, pulled his hood off and stuffed the little object in Irvine's ear as he held his neck tightly...

'Ouch...' groaned Irvine as he rubbed his ear and looked in shock at Laguna who was laughing at him ...

'That's what it's for...' chuckled Laguna who now punched Irvine on his shoulder friendly...

'It's a little communicator...so we can all be in touch...' he explained...

'What about the IC's ?' asked Selphie with a tone of sadness in her voice...

'I'm afraid you'll have to leave those behind...' said Kiros who was still laughing at Irvine...

'If those forest people catch you with does, they'll suspect of you...that wouldn't be very good...would it?' Laguna said as he gave a loud snort.

At this moment Squall remembered he had left his IC on the other side of the river, in his jacket pocket...he was glad he wouldn't need it anymore...

'I want each one of you with one...' said Laguna as he threw a tiny little sack at Zell.

Once everyone had taken one of the little bean shaped objects, Laguna led them through the bushes.

'We are cutting through the bushes so we don't look suspicious...when we get to the other side we'll split up and go separate ways...' explained Laguna who put his hood on his head started cutting the bushes branches as he passed through with a dagger he had taken off his belt...

'Argh! My leg...Urgh...!' Laguna's leg had cramped up again...

'You Ok, dude?' asked Zell as he stared at Laguna making his way through the bushes as he limped on one leg...

'Yeah...yeah...it's normal, when I get nervous...my leg usually does this to me...' explained Laguna, smiling as he gave a loud nervous snort...

'I mean, if we are cutting through the bushes, we are suspicious...' thought Zell out loud...

'Yeah...but it's not like you are thinking, we're gonna wait for the opportune moment to blend in with the others...then it starts...' explained Laguna as a twig shot straight into his eye making him screech of pain ...

'Hey Laguna are you alright?' asked Rinoa as she made her way next to him, passing by everyone else...

'Yeah...s-sorry for the noise...' mumbled Laguna as he rubbed his eye and looked at Rinoa thankfully...

'Whoa...you look so much like...' started Laguna as he gazed at Rinoa...

'Like who? 'asked Rinoa as she smiled sweetly at him...

'J-Julia...' he said under his breath...

'Oh...yeah...they say that all the time, they say I have her eyes...my mother was beautiful...I miss her...' said Rinoa dreamily...

'Julia is your mother...? I mean... was...?' asked Laguna in shock...

'Yes, she was...' confirmed Rinoa as she looked down in sadness...

'Oh...I 'm sorry...I knew your mother...she was a wonderful woman...but I was a Galbadian soldier...I had responsibilities...' he started...

'You knew my mother?' asked Rinoa weakly...

'Yes...she was very special to me...but when I left... she met someone else...' he explained.

'...my father...so you're the one...my mother wrote a song about you...the soldier that went to war and never came back...' Rinoa's eyes started shinning...

'Hey...hey...what's this...are we on a mission or on a cheesy TV show! If I came all the way here for this...I'm leaving right now...' groaned Seifer, crossing his arms with impatience...His eyes shinned threw his hood...

'I'm sorry guys...' mumbled Laguna as looked sadly at all of them...

Squall felt weird...he was glad his face was hidden by his hood and the cloth he had around his face...he didn't like the way Laguna looked at him...

The comrades walked and walked through the never ending bushes, the twigs scrapping their clothes all the time, the sun was already setting and the last few rays of light shinned through the twigs...Finally they reached a place where the bushes grew smaller and smaller, it was already dark and in the distance there was a huge field, little fire-flies all around and flash lights shinning all over the place...the field bushes and grass where fresher and softer then where they had passed through...there were people searching the field...

'Ok it's here...Now we split up...the best way...is in pairs of two...from what I can see...it's more common between these guys...' Laguna suggested as they peeped through a tall bush...

'This is it...Squall you come with me, Zell goes with Rinoa, Irvine goes with Selphie and Seifer can go with Quistis...is that ok?' suggested Laguna as he looked back to see if everyone agreed with the decision...nobody said anything...

'Right, then here's what you do...we go into the field and pretend we doing the same as them, searching for something, and while we at it we try and hear some conversations or actually talk to the others...do your best to find out anything related to what they're doing...' explained Laguna as he kept his eyes on the field...

'Squall and I shall go first; your flash lights are attached to your belts...when we're far enough I'll tell whose next...and where to head...' explained Laguna.

Squall looked at Zell who was behind him and looked at him as if to say 'take care of her', Zell nodded (he seemed to understand what his look meant...).

'Ok...let's go...duck, so we aren't seen coming out of the bushes...c'mon...' said Laguna as he and Squall ran ducking down into the middle of the field...

Laguna and Squall made their way silently and quickly into the field, trying not to be seen or heard...

'K, now we blend in...flash lights...' whispered Laguna to Squall...

Squall clipped his one off his belt and searched for its button to turn the flash light on...there was no button...

'How do you...' started Squall as he held the flash light a little puzzled...

'Yeah...sorry ,man...you just knock it twice like this...' explained Laguna as he pat the flash light twice with his finger, as a golf ball sized bug came buzzing out of it and shinned brightly ...

'Did you hear that guys! To turn on your flash light knock it twice with your finger...' said Laguna.

'Yeah...' went everyone...

'These guys are weird...I know...they only use "natural" stuff...' chuckled Laguna as he held the flash light and walked along the field as he pretended to be searching for whatever he was suppose to as he touched his ear...

'Zell, Rinoa...you're up next, just go west...quickly...' ordered Laguna now as he and Squall walked along the field amongst the others...

'Right-y-o!' said Zell loudly as he grabbed Rinoa's hand and ran ducking down carefully through the field...

Next it was Quistis and Seifer, then at last Irvine and Selphie...They were all in the darkened field, all about 50 feet away from each other...

'Do you see the guys at four o'clock?...' asked Laguna as he pointed his flash light at his face as he looked at Squall...

'Yeah...' winced Squall closing his eyes painfully...

'...lets draw closer...' said Laguna...

'Irvine, Selphie the guys at nine o'clock...follow them...' ordered Laguna...

'Got it...' said Selphie as she dragged Irvine across field towards the guys...

'Selphie, darling...more discreetly...they're not exactly our friends...ok?' said Laguna as he caught Selphie running it the others direction...

'Oh...sorry...I guess I got carried away...he he...' chuckled Selphie as she stopped abruptly, making Irvine bump into her...

'You making us look suspicious!...' groaned Irvine...

'I said I'm sorry!...' Selphie lift up her voice...

'Fine...' he replied raising his hands...

'Fine!' she talked back...

'Enough with the fighting...' said Quistis who was standing many feet away from them with Seifer next to her...

'...when is the real work starting!...this is too easy...' mumbled Seifer as he walked along with Quistis...

'...Seifer...don't talk...just do...ok?' moaned Quistis irritably, Seifer snorted...

'...this is crap, man...we're never gonna find that stupid plant...I want to go home...that plant has disappeared a long time ago...' said one of the guys that Squall and Laguna where sneaking up on...

'If you want to go home, we better find it...they wouldn't be after it if it the bloody plant never existed, alright? ...now stop with the whining and look...I've had enough of your moaning all day...' said the other one viciously...

'F-Fine...fine...' said the other one apprehensively ...

Laguna and Squall looked at each other...Laguna made a gesture, telling Squall to abandon that spot...

'Who did they mean with "they"? 'Asked Squall puzzled, feeling a little more at ease with Laguna...

'...I don't know...but it sounds like they aren't alone...' started Laguna as he thought deeply, scratching his head...

'...sounds like they're being ordered around, against their will...' Squall thought out loud... as he stared at the guys already far away from them...

'...we need to get more information...it's not enough...' said Squall as he stared into the dark distance, blue lights shinning extendedly through out the whole field...

'...this is cool, huh?' Laguna said changing the subject as he twiddled the flash light in his hands...

'...what is? There's nothing cool about this situation...' said Squall coldly, trying to avoid any friendly conversation...

'...I mean...the two of us...me and you... you know? Like things should have been...' Laguna started, but Squall didn't want to hear...he was petrified of that subject...he knew deep down, but wanted it to be avoided at all cost...

'I don't understand what you mean...I-I think we should get going...I'll go check up on the guys up there in front...' snapped Squall softly, avoiding looking at Laguna...walked away, disappearing into the dark, leaving Laguna standing alone...

'...I can't take this anymore...I know he has something to tell me...I feel it's what he wanted to tell me the last time we met...but...I'm scared...I don't wanna know what it is...I'm afraid it's what I think it is...anyway, I can't spend time thinking of this, I have to concentrate on my mission...there's no time for this...' thought Squall as he walked through the field imitating the other soldiers, waving his flash-light around...

**To be continued...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Part 10:**

'C'mon...Seifer let's go sneak up those guys on the left...' whispered Quistis as she grabbed him by his hand, ducked and almost flew past the plants as they scrapped past them violently...

Seifer didn't like people to tell him what to do, but somehow never felt the need to groan at Quistis...deep down he kind of liked being with her, it was interesting...he didn't quite know what to expect of her...that's what entertained him so much... so he just kept quiet and watched her attentively...

'Oh...man...lately I just been having the gases...I don't know what's wrong with me...I think it's from that crap food those bullies have been giving us...Man...first they threaten us to leave our homes, then they force us to look for a needle in a hay stack...a stupid plant! Can you believe it?...we came all the way here to look for a useless imaginary plant!' complained one of the guys that Seifer and Quistis observed...

'I don't know... that Tear Blossom plant is very mysterious...everybody talks about it...but no one has actually seen it...why are they looking for it now? Why now? All these years have past since the Queen passed away...I don't understand...You know what...? I'm tired of this...I'm going back home...to our Forest...to Ganahir...they can't just rip us away from our families and force us to look for a stupid plant that has been missing for decades! Sorry, dude...I'm going home...see ya soon...hopefully...that's if you survive...' said the other one determinedly as he punched his own hand furiously and walked away into te darkness...

'Hey! Wait! You can't leave me alone! Hey! C'mon! We were just starting to be buddies!...Oh man!' yelled the other one at his colleague who had disappeared into the dark...hearing his footsteps fade away into the darkened field...

'Great...more work for me!...I hope he doesn't get caught...that would be bad...real bad...' he mumbled to himself...

'...their Queen has passed away...what does that have to do with the Tear Blossom?' asked Quistis rhetorically as both her and Seifer sitting on the fresh tall grass, all they could hear were the crickets...

'...err...Queen Harath...she died 16 years ago...her daughter Cryo is the only heir of the Kingdom...but has refused to take it...' groaned Seifer unexpectedly...

'Wha'? How...? How do you know that?...' asked Quistis inquisitively...

'I have some friends there...' he groaned shyly...

'I see...well then since you know so much about it why haven't you told us?' asked Quistis suspiciously, thinking he was taking the enemy's side once again...

'...hold on there...I didn't come with so you could be suspecting of me...if I knew you where gonna treat me like this...I wouldn't have came with you...I don't have patience to answer useless suspicious questions of such a mediocre instructor...' he mumbled as he got up and started walking away furiously...

Quistis then remembered their last conversation and decided not to be polite this time...he had hurt her feelings...she was up to her neck with his bad temper and his insults; he wasn't going to escape this one...

'...maybe you shouldn't have...you aren't of great use anyway...you just a bad tempered rebellious little boy going through puberty...' she replied trying to get him back for being nasty to her before...

'Oh, really?' he asked provocatively. Their moods were rising up...a fight was coming...

'Seifer...just go...I prefer to work on my own then with you...I'm sick of you...I really am...now go...get out of my sight!...' she groaned as she walked past him and pushed him with both her hands, making him stumble with his open in surprise and amazement...

'Huh! If that's what Instructor Trepe wants, that's what Instructor Trepe gets...!' he smirked...

'Yeah...just get lost, alright?' Quistis grumbled from in the bushes...

'Alright...women...huh!' he groaned to himself...

'That Seifer thinks he can just treat me the way he wants, he thinks he can just do what he wants...this time...I'm doing what I want...I'm not being nice or patient with that jerk any longer...I was really stupid to think he'd ever change...or less likely...be nice for once in his life...jerk!...I'm sure his working for who we're after...useless bully...' she hissed in the darkness as she walked furiously through the tall plants that grew on the field...

'Rinoa...let's follow does two jerks there...I have a feeling they're talkin' about somethin' important...he he...'sneared Zell softly as he ducked down and rubbed his hands together...

'Huh? Alright...' mumbled Rinoa as her mind roamed around somewhere else...

'Rinoa...why are you so quiet?...I mean...is everything Ok? Is something wrong, you look kind of worried...I dunno...!' said Zell softly as he turned around to speak to her...

'Oh...well...I am kind of worried...I probably should have told you this before we came out here...but I thought maybe I'd be mixing things up a bit...but now...I think I'm sure...Squall hasn't said anything yet...maybe it's because he doesn't remember...it was quite traumatising for him...and also because of the GF...he might...' she tried to explain, but Zell wasn't understanding very well...

'Whoa...girl...hold on there! I don't get it...what are you trying to say!' Zell whispered a little puzzled slapping his head with his hand...

'...I'm sorry...Ok, I'll tell you...it's those guys in Dollet...they were dressed just like you are now...so I assumed...maybe they are after me...and if they are...they'll find me...I'm right here...and if they do...Zell, I'm scared...' she mumbled softly as a great look of fear invaded her pretty face...

'...whoa...wait a minute...so...that means...that the Tear Blossom...must be...it's...it's you...!' Zell's tone of voice got a grave worried tone...

'Rinoa...don't worry...Squall knows I'll take care of you...don't you worry...I'm here to protect you! Whoever tries to take you...I'll whoop them out so badly they won't know what hit them!...Huh!...so don't you worry!...besides you're disguised!...nothing will happen as long as I'm around...k?' Zell said reassuringly, a bit shocked and frightened himself...

'Zell, I'm not Tear Blossom...but they are after me because of my powers and now they are after that Tear Blossom which probably also has great power...' whispered Rinoa very puzzled now...

'Yeah...that's true...you ain't no vegetable!...' concluded Zell ironically...

'...Zell...the Tear Blossom must be some kind of plant...a powerful one...if they searching between these bushes...I'm sure it's some kind of plant they're looking for...!' she concentrated deeply...

'But then...why did they try to kidnap you?' Zell was really puzzled...

'They know I'm the Sorceress...and that I have powers...so that must be their goal...to kill me...and take my powers...that's what they want...in order to rest in peace, a sorceress before she dies must hand over her powers...and that is probably what they want to do with me...' she mumbled sadly...

'Whoa...they want you and that plant! That plant probably carries great power...together with yours...that would make anybody invincible...stronger than Ultemecia...' concluded Zell finally...

'That would be awful...because of me...the whole world could be destroyed...the whole world would be under the power of some evil guy...whoever wants that power...it must only be evil...' Rinoa's eyes started glittering behind the cloth around her face, underneath her hood...

'Don't you worry, girl...I-I'm sure none of that crazy stuff will happen...Squall won't let that happen to you...or me...or all of our comrades...you are safe with us...don't worry...huh?' Zell was trying his best to calm her down...not really succeeding at it, though...

'...thanks, Zell...I won't forget that...I know I can always count on you...but now I'm starting to think that maybe I should have been taken away that day I arrived from space with Squall...the people from Esthar were right...it would be for the world's safety if I had been put away...I was selfish and let my heart lead me...I only reacted to the moment...and when you guys came for me...I just was so happy...I couldn't control it...you guys had came for me...like deep down I hopped you would...and now...I feel awful...I could have helped to save the world from being possessed by evil...it was all in my hands...right here...and I let that slip away...' she murmured sadly as she shook her hands explicitly...

'Shut up!...I-I mean...d-don't say that...! Are you mad? How could you say that? If you had been put away that day...we wouldn't be all together right now!...Squall would have never forgiven himself and probably had jumped off the highest cliff he could find...and us...we would probably all be alcoholics!...' Zell raised his voice a bit seriously...

'...Oh...Zell!...thanks...' Rinoa put her arms around Zell tightly and smiled as a little tear came rolling down her face, getting absorbed by the cloth around her face...

'...don't mention it...' he groaned softly...

'Irvine, how come nobody says anything important! First they talk about their parents, then their girlfriends, then their disgusting intestinal problems...Yuk! I'm starting to think this is all a big great joke!...' Selphie grumbled as she turned around to look at Irvine...

'Yeah...me too...say...Sefie...I've been wanting to talk to you for some time now...It's probably not the right time...or the right place...but...' Irvine tried his best to get to the subject...

'...me too...' mumbled Selphie softly as she gazed into his darkened hood, she could only see his big, tall structure standing over her and looking at her gloomily...

'...well...I don't really know where to start but...I want to ask you something important...it's... about you and me...or me and you...whatever you like...I'm kinda nervous right now...but...errr...what I'm trying to...say...is...'

'Irvine! Does two guys at 9 o'clock are coming in on you...hurry! Or you'll be seen!...' yelled Laguna from in the microphone in Irvine's and Selphie's ears...it was so nervous wrecking, Irvine grabbed Selphie by her waist and jumped into a tall bush with her...hearing couple of men walk right past where they had once been...

'I don't get it! If we are wearing their clothes...aren't we supposed to blend in with them! What's with the yelling anyway? You almost gave me a heart attack...I was in the middle of somethin' important, dude!' grumbled Irvine softly to Laguna as he touched the little receptor in his ear...

'That is true...but the thing is that these dudes keep a distance, they're very synchronized...they change position according to each other...just trying to save your butt!' Laguna explained patiently...

'... Right...how was I supposed to know...?' mumbled Irvine to himself...

'...I can see this isn't the right place... or time...we can talk some other time, maybe?' asked Selphie sweetly and understandingly at Irvine...

'Yeah...you right...it's hard though...' said Irvine bleakly...

'Hard? What's hard?' she pretended to not know grinning under her mask, hoping he would just spit everything out on that moment and end the whole 'beating around the bush' conversation...

'...huh?...oh...it's nothin'...some stuff I've been trying to do...I mean say...say...just that...some stupid thing always has to happen!...' Irvine kicked a bush as he raised his voice on the last words...

The next thing you could hear was shriek...

'Aaaargh!' Irvine cried out, making everybody look in their direction...

'Shhhhhh!' Selphie ducked down and pulled him down with her, forcing him to sit down on the grass...

'...what happened?' she whispered worriedly at him...

'My leg!...Oh...my leg!...Ouch!...' Irvine grizzled...

Selphie pulled Irvine's pants pipe out of his right boot and pushed it up...his leg was full of thorns...

'Ouch!' Selphie mumbled as she looked at the frightening sight with her flashlight...

'I know it's ouch!...Argh! Don't touch...it's too painful! It hurts!...' Irvine winced as he pulled his mask off to breathe...

'Breath in deeply...slowly...that's it...you're doing fine...' Selphie tried to calm Irvine down...

'Urgh...' Irvine winced and blinked his eyes quickly, his mouth dropped open, he was struggling for air, but with all the pain and fear he couldn't... he collapsed onto the floor...

'Irvine!' Selphie cried out for him...

'Irvine! Wake up! Irvine!' Selphie crawled up to next to his face...he wasn't breathing...she checked as she put her ear against his semi-open mouth...

'Oh no! Breathe! C'mon! Breathe!...Err...CPR!' she mumbled in panic to her self...

Selphie pulled her mask off and started pressing Irvine's chest and counting up to three...she was in so much panic she would count the times she pressed his chest in all wrong, making her even more nervous than she already was...

'one...two...three...' she pushed his chest as hard as she could with both her hands and then nervously with her fingers pulled his mouth open by his lips and leaned her mouth onto his and blew as much air into his lungs as she could, enough to make her shake of tiredness...

She repeated the process a second time and Irvine had finally came back in a choke...opening his eyes widely and finding him self face to face with her...

'Irvine!' You're back! Oh!...Thank you!...oh my gosh...' she squeaked as she threw herself at him in an embrace (Irvine still choking)...

'My leg...It hurts!...It's too painful!...' he moaned...

'Don't worry! I'll take care of it! Just lay down and breathe in slowly...ok?' she advised sweetly as she gave him a peck on the cheek...

Selphie rubbed her hands together and with without saying anything she pulled out one of the thorns...making Irvine scream as loud as ever...

'Shut up! You are drawing attention!' Selphie grumbled...

'Stop it! NO!...leave my leg alone!...Selphie...stop! Argh!' he yelled and grizzled at the same time...

'Keep it down, Irvine...I'm trying to work here!' she groaned...

Irvine was moaning as he laid on his back and covered his face with his arm as he hiccupped now and then ...

Selphie went on taking thorns out of his leg ...making him moan and jerk all the time...

'Alright Irvine...it's done...it's over...are you feeling better...? she asked very concerned, crawling back next to his face...

'...Yeah...but it burns...thanks...' he mumbled still hiding his face with his arm...

'It will go away...you'll be fine...I think I still have some cure magic left...'

'Cure!' Selphie cast cure on Irvine's leg...

'Feeling better!' she asked in concern...

'Yeah...' he mumbled still hiding his face...

'Hey...look at me...why are you hiding!' she asked quite surprised with his behaviour.

'I can't...' he mumbled...

'Oh cut that out!...' Selphie pulled his arm away...

'Oh...I'm sorry...' she saw Irvine's eyes were wet...he had been crying...and was trying to hide it...

He pulled his arm away brutally and wiped his eyes, still looking away from her...

'Hey, Irvy...I'm sorry...I didn't want to hurt you...but if I had left the thorns in your leg...your leg would have been all bloated up by now...then you couldn't walk...and maybe you'd have to chop it off!...It's over...does it still hurt?' she asked caringly...

'...No...I'm sorry...I felt a bit stupid...that's all...it's not your fault...you were great...you saved my leg...' Irvine turned around and smiled...

'Stupid!...For what!' asked Selphie, this time feeling really boggled...

'...for having my eyes drop tears...and for talking too loud...'

'...you mean crying...and screaming like a baby?' chuckled Selphie...

'...yeah...yeah...I don't usually apply does words to myself...so what?' Irvine said defensively...

'Oh...Irvy...you have absolutely no reason to feel stupid...at least around me you don't!...' she grinned sweetly...

'Thanks, Sefie...I am kinda silly, aren't I?' he chuckled...

'Yeah...but don't ever change... that's the way I like you...' mumbled Selphie absentmindedly as she gazed into his eyes with a huge smile on her cute face...

After a few moments of silence, Irvine suddenly decided something...

'Selphie...I've decided...we can't go on like this...this is like torture...'he started...

'You bet...!' Selphie agreed absentmindedly...

'I don't have any doubts, I never did before anyway...I don't even know why I suggested that...anyway...I don't know if you have, but right now I don't really care...because I'm so tired of hiding this...it doesn't make any sense in my head...' he ignored what Selphie had said...

'Me neither...' she agreed still gazing at him...

'Selphie...' he groaned as he lift up and sat next to her...

'Selphie, I need to ask you something...' he breathe in deeply before he started...

'Yes...' she answered before he had asked her the question...

'Huh! Yes? Yes what!' Irvine felt confused and surprised at the same time...

'Yes, Irvine...Whatever you want to ask me...the answer is yes!' she smiled happily...

'Yes to what!' he started rising his hopes...

'Well...if I not mistaken...yes... to this...' Selphie put her arms around Irvine's neck gently, rubbed her cold nose against his lovingly, stared into his darkened eyes peacefully, with the most passionate smile on her face, kissed his cheek softly and then finally his lips...their soft, warm lips met once again...in a passionate kiss...Irvine felt a weird electric wave passing through his whole body the moment Selphie's lips had touched his...it was surreal...so weird, but at the same time so good...it was like drinking a hot coco on a winter evening...a enormous thrill to be there in her arms...

He was so relieved Selphie felt the same way about him...he just wanted to stay like that all night long...he had been longing to kiss her for so long...it was actually painful to think about it...and now there she was...her arms around him kissing him like he had never been kissed before...with so much love and soul...

He put his whole soul into that kiss, he wanted to prove to her that he really loved her, that what he felt for her was going to be the strongest anyone could ever feel...he wanted her to feel what he had wanted to tell her for so long, he just didn't have the words for it...in the end of such an electric kiss, they embraced one another tightly and both laughed their heads off...that experience had been the most thrilling they had ever been through...it just made them want to laugh out of disbelief...

They looked at one other, but couldn't help bursting into laughter whenever they would try to talk...they simply had no words...

Quistis sneaked up on another couple of soldiers, ducking down and making her way closer to them.

'Tonight, if Samuiiha's men do their usual patrol around Win Hill, maybe we'll have some time to sneak out of here...I'm tired of this...my family needs me...I don't even want to imagine what they're doing to them...I can't just stay here, knowing that my family's so far away from me and that they're being bullied around by those trolls...' said one of the guys with a very concerned tone in his voice.

'Yeah, me too...my sister needs me too...she's only twelve...she can't be left on her own...I promised my father before he passed away, I'd take care of her, no matter what...I can't be here any longer...' said the other one...

'They are being threatened to work here...these people are innocent after all...it's that Samuiiha we should be after...I have to go tell the others...we have to go to their forest...'

Quistis crawled away slowly and silently a few feet away from the soldiers, carrying the flashlight in her mouth she made her way through the bushes, but stopped when suddenly she heard heavy footsteps in the distance coming towards her...

'Hey!...what's with the pushing!...' yelled a guy in the distance...

'Shut up...don't mess with these...they can't break your leg or something, lets get out of here before he turns around...' said another voice...

It didn't sound like human footsteps; it was heavier, sloppier and noisier...

Quistis froze as she felt the creature's presence behind her. It had stopped suddenly...She turned her head around slowly to look back, still on her knees with the flashlight in her mouth and the little bug flying right in front of her nose, made it's way back into the flashlight's tube in a flash...leaving Quistis in total darkness with a 10 foot tall beast that stood staring at her...

As soon as she looked at the beast and came to the conclusion that it was lurking over her, she turned her head back around slowly and stood as still as she possibly could, she didn't know what she was doing or what she was supposed to do...she just knew that she had to get out of there...

Quistis's muscles got tense, she dug her feet into the ground and in a jump, she started running like she had never ran before in her whole life...She couldn't see anything in front of her, it was all dark, she could only see the little spots of blue light in the distance, and felt the twigs and the grass scrapping pats her violently as she ran...she could feel her face get grazed every second, her face was bleeding severely, but she didn't care...she could hear the heavy thumps of the beast's feet or claws coming right after her...she was petrified, her legs were moving as fast as they could, this run seemed endless, she was getting exhausted...her legs were getting tired...she looked back to see if the beast was closing in on her...and he was...she was too tired ...she was hurt and had no more strength in her legs, failing her as she tried to jump over a rock that appeared in her way...

She fell frontward, on the stony ground hurting her arms and knees in the process, trying to get up with the little energy she had left, but not succeeding...

She looked back, forgetting about the pain she was in and found her self in deep trouble...

She could hear the creature breathing furiously behind her, making the hairs on the back of her neck rise... Now the beast was approaching her, his feet thumping as he came, she could feel the earth bump as it made its way towards her...

Quistis froze out of fear...she looked at the thing approaching her and hopelessly just stared at it, knowing there was nothing she could do...her whole body was tense and sore...nobody was going to find her...she just knew it...

The creature was lurking over her...Quistis's eyes were blinking nervously...her mouth dropped open in fear as she took her a last glimpse at the beast, her eyes went blur, she felt her head blank out and lost all the strength she had...her head dropped down onto the ground. She fainted...The beast was reaching out for her, grabbed her by her collar and lift her up into the air carelessly , but as it prepared to walk away...

'Hey troll! C'mon...come and get me!...c'mon...come and see what I have for you!' smirked Seifer as he jumped out of a bush, making the creature turn around in surprise...

'Yeah...that's right...come and get me...! C'mon...I feel like squirting blood today...yeah...that's it come and get me...' Seifer shouted out provocatively, trying to attract the beast's attention before he did anything to Quistis who hung unconsciously by her collar in the beast's huge claw- like hand ...

Seifer drew his Gunblade , with a wicked grin on his face and jumped onto the stone Quistis had tripped on and in one go sliced the creatures head off, making the hooded head shriek and roll away into the bushes, shaking the leaves violently as it passed...The creature's groggy body stood a few seconds up straight, but soon its knees had given in to its weight and bent over , Seifer grabbed Quistis quickly out of its gigantic hand before it fell and ran out of its shade where a second later the creature's large body collapsed in a loud clump...

**To be continued...**


	11. Chapter 11

**Part 11:**

The noise made some of the soldiers that searched near by jump, running towards where they heard the sound come from...finding Seifer holding Quistis in his arms as he sat on a rock, wiping the blood of the scratches off her face gently, gazing at her moon lit beauty with a stunned, yet peaceful look on his scarred face...

'Who are you...?' gasped a voice of one of two soldiers that appeared out of nowhere, taking a fighting position in front of him...

'You're not one of us...we don't use those weapons...show your face...' groaned the other one as Seifer looked at them in surprise, still holding onto Quistis caringly...

'You're right...I'm not...we are here to stop whoever is planning on claming Tear Blossom...' Seifer explained calmly as he ripped his mask off his face and looked at them fearlessly...

'Seifer? ... How's it going, dude!' said one of them enthusiastically as he approached Seifer in surprise...

'You know this guy!' asked the other one in shock...

'You mean this bloke? Of course...the three of us...me, Cryo and Seifer...getting into trouble all the time...huh!' chuckled the guy as he came nearer to Seifer, getting a closer look at his friend...

'That's right, Wiren...those were the days...seems like only yesterday when we blew up Mrs. Joon's kitchen'...' Seifer remembered the days he spent in Ganahir when he travelled the world and made friends with Wiren and Cryo...

'Yeah...I'm afraid Mrs. Joon has ...has passed away...yeah...' the smile faded off Wiren's face...

'What!...h-how...?... she was young...she couldn't have...' Seifer's mouth dropped open...

'Far too young...those murderers... they'll pay someday...for all they have done...to our families...right now we have choice but to collaborate...they threaten to hurt our loved ones if we resist...' Wiren explained...

'...who are they!' groaned Seifer furiously...

'...they're servants of Samuiiha...known as The Serpents of Samuiiha...from what we heard...ugly beasts...look more like trolls to me...oh...and that was quite something out there, Seifer...the whole stop, drop and roll thing of the head...that was great...that trolls head scrolled away nicely...' grinned the other soldier who accompanied Wiren...

Suddenly, out of nowhere a horn sounded from far away in the distance...

'We better go...we supposed to re-establish our initial positions...this time closer to the centre...Bye Seifer ...Hope to see ya soon...' Wiren and his colleague saluted weirdly, bowing down and as he lift his head up again, placed his semi-closed hand on their forehead, with their thumb, indicator and medium fingers out...

'Yeah...bye...we'll meet again...' mumbled Seifer looking back at Quistis who laid peacefully in his arms, her beautiful face all scratched up violently...

Seifer continued gazing at her, she was there in his arms, her darkened peaceful face lit by the moon light...so vulnerable, so peaceful, she had no words to say to him, no lectures to give him, no insults for him...She was completely silent and yet she still affected him, he couldn't quite explain it...it was a weird electrifying feeling that he felt trough the veins in his arms straight into his chest...it was strange...

The only thing he could think of was what would have happened to her if he hadn't came in time...

He pulled her torn mask off...her red carmine lips, where so delicate...so desirable...so kissable...there was a tiny little scratch on her top lip with a tiny speckle of blood on it, which made Seifer without hesitating rub it off with his thumb and look at the tiny speckle of blood shinning on the tip of his finger for a few seconds...absentmindedly touching his lips slowly with the same finger as he stared at her with the most weird and unexpected expression on his face...(scary!)

Quistis's eye twitched. She was coming to her senses. Seifer just continued staring at her, reaching for his flashlight to light up the place...

Quistis opened her eyes quickly and shut them at the same speed, for she saw everything blurry and felt a bit dizzy...She rubbed her eyes with her hands and then just sat there on his lap, with her hands on her eyes for a few moments, trying to get rid of the dizziness...

When she slid her hands of her eyes and opened them slowly, two big bulging eyes stared in hers...she caught a fright...

There were these big blue darkened eyes staring in hers...this made her jump...and scream...

Quistis jumped out of his arms and squeaked, still dizzy as she took a few steps backwards she fell hard on her knees and stared petrified at Seifer, thinking he was that beast that had attacked her...

When she finally noticed the blue eyes belonged to Seifer's forever mocking face, she sighted furiously and relieved, moaned out of frustration as she banged her fists on the ground furiously...keeping her head down...

'That thing tried to kill you...' Seifer said seriously as he continued sitting on the rock, whipping his mouth with his hand and looking at the blood on his hand casually...

Quistis remained silent, feeling weak, still kneeling on the ground as she chocked on her breathing...

Seifer got up and walked up to her...

Quistis tried to get up with the little strength she had left, struggling in the process...Seifer decided to help her, holding her under her arms as he pulled her up with almost no effort...

'I thought...I thought I told you to get lost...' she winced weakly as he held her under her arms, their faces one inch apart from each other...

'I did...but you were in my way...it's your fault I found you...you came to my side...' Seifer smirked softly at her, still staring into her eyes as he spoke as a little irritating smile grew from one end of his mouth and besides looking very attractive while grinning like that, Quistis wouldn't forget his words...they would echo in her head every time she saw his mocking face...

'Just leave me...don't touch me...' she groaned as she pulled his hand off her arm brutally...

Seifer just stared at her with a little irritating smile on his face as she took a few steps away from him feebly...

'I'm out of here...' mumbled Seifer a few moments later unfolding his arms and walking away cooly...

'Thank goodness...' sighted Quistis as she heard the grass moving as he walked away...

A few seconds later she heard the grass moving and footsteps again...

Quistis turned around quickly and stared into the darkened bushes...hoping it wouldn't be another beast...

The thing was approaching her, she heard it coming towards her...the steps were closing in on her and she was in complete darkness...

'Thinking twice...I'll stick around...just in case...you know...it would be quite a loss if you died...being an instructor and all...and probably wouldn't be very practical to carry around your corpse with us, either...so I think I'll stick around...' Seifer smirked once again, switching on his flashlight, giving Quistis a fright when he started talking, pointing the light into Quistis's face on purpose...

Quistis kept still and quiet, until about two seconds later there, she marched up to him and there sounded a huge SLAP...

Quistis slapped Seifer's face furiously; making his face stay in the same position her hand had forced it to for a few moments, in shock...She gave Seifer a peace of her mind...

'Wow...Now...that was unexpected...I think you're learning some things with me...maybe if you go on you'll improve your skil...' Seifer started, trying not at all to make her feel as if she had won the battle...

'Shut up! That's an order...I don't need you hanging on my back to tell how bad I am as an instructor, Ok? I've had enough...I got the picture, Ok?...just give me a break...shut up or...just get lost, ok!' Quistis lost her temper with his stupid comments...

Seifer never hesitated on that moment and grabbed Quistis by her thin wrists brutally, dropping the flash light on the ground, making it point up straight to his face, lighting his face upwards, making him seem quite gloomy as he stared in her eyes frighteningly. His face stood a few millimetres away from hers challengingly...

Quistis opened her mouth in shock and tried to say something, but no words would come out...

'Listen little instructor Trepe...I don't take orders from anyone...I do what I want...do you hear me! I do what I want!...no one gives me orders...not you, not anyone...I won't shut up!...because I don't feel like it...and I won't get lost either...I'm staying with you...now if you have a problem with it I'm sure we'll come to an understanding won't we?...I'm sure you'll do what I want...I'm in control here, not you Treppy...got it?...' Seifer clenched his teeth as he spoke threateningly. Quistis could feel his breath on her face as he spoke threateningly to her...

'...Never...' Quistis winced as she wrinkled her nose in fury, clenching her teeth as well, staring in his eyes, showing no fear spitting in his face after a dirty look, leaving a blob of spit on the corner of his mouth...(YUK! OO)

Seifer blinked as she spat on his face, still holding her wrists tightly, tightening them a bit more now...as he approached his face a bit more to hers coolly, still grinning dangerously...their noses now touched, Quistis was struggling to let her self go from his "claws"...they remained silent for a few seconds, only Quistis fast heavy nervous breathing could be heard...

'What does that mean...?' he whispered to her calmly...

'I h-hate you...' Quistis teeth now clenched even more furiously now as she stared into his eyes which were so close to hers, intimidating her so badly it mad her furious...

'...guess what...?...' Seifer smirked whispering in her ear, nibbling on it softly afterwards, making Quistis jerk out of anxiety...

'...I hate you too...' Seifer finally said still whispering, now looking back into her eyes dangerously...

Seifer then with a provocative grin on his face, opened his mouth a little bit and approached his face to Quistis's, grabbing her bottom lip with his lips tightly, still staring into her eyes deeply as he caressed her lip with his softly, then went on kissing her...

Quistis just froze in his arms, she was completely limp, she just lost all the strength in her arms and stood there in shock as Seifer kissed her so intensely...her head blanked out...she couldn't think of anything, Seifer just went on kissing her paralysed lips as he looked into her eyes intensely, trying to see her reaction...

Finally Quistis realised what was happening to her, felt her body again and pulled away brutally, breathing nervously as she stared at him in panic and disgust, her eyes wondering around his face quickly in panic and fury...

'Now, now...don't panic, instructor Trepe...an instructor is to remain indifferent to any flirting students...isn't that part of the agreement...? Huh?' Seifer tried to provoke Quistis once more...

'Stop it!...Seifer, stop it!...let me go!...Stop it!' Quistis yelled frustrated at this whole situation, not knowing how to react as tears blossomed out of her beautiful painful eyes...

Quistis continued to struggle to break free from Seifer's hands, finally doing it when Seifer gave her a last intimidating look, letting go of her, making her stumble and fall to the ground painfully...

Seifer just picked his flashlight up coolly, whipped his mouth brutally, still grinning wickedly at her and walked away, leaving her in complete darkness... saying a few last nasty words before he disappeared...

'...Oh...and about your career as an instructor, Trepe...I would resign...no sober headmaster would ever admit having such a weak Instructor in their school...specially such vulnerable one to flirting...it's embarrassing...' smirked Seifer coldly, now back faced to her, leaving her in complete darkness as he walked away carelessly...

Quistis heart was broken...this was the worst it could get...after this, Quistis felt like running away from that place and start a whole new life somewhere else, far away...life had no meaning to her...she wasn't doing anything there...all she had there was pain and emptiness...this wasn't the life she wanted...it wasn't what she had in mind...she already had problems with Squall, now with Seifer...it was too much for her wounded heart, she couldn't take it any longer...she had to do something...but what?

Quistis dropped to the floor in exasperation, dug her hands into the ground angrily and cried loudly in pain and frustration...

'So...did you hear anything of interest...?' Laguna asked as he approached Squall who stared at the distance, his mind clouded in thought...

'Huh?...oh...No...not yet...' Squall answered as he turned around in surprise and frowned as his eyes lowered down...

'Errr...look, man...if I said anything that didn't please you down there...I'm sorry...but I couldn't take it...so many years without...' Laguna tried to make Squall understand...

'I don't know what you are talking about...' Squall mumbled as he walked passed Laguna in a rush...

'Squall...! Don't go...!...we have to talk...' Laguna was sorry for starting the conversation again, but he couldn't help it, he wanted desperately to tell the truth, but it was so hard...he couldn't stand the burden...

Laguna banged his foot on the ground in fury (he was mad at himself) and suddenly felt it go all stiff again, his leg cramped up...

'Argh! My leg!' he winced as he reached out for his leg in pain...

'Oh my gosh...my poor leg...I'll probably have to chop it off someday...' Laguna was going through a hard time with his leg...

Laguna walked a bit, trying to loosen up his leg.

Laguna was heart broken, he wanted so much to be accepted by Squall...but he wasn't responding the way he hoped Squall would...he had no idea how to get through to Squall anymore...it was too hard...and too painful...he thought he'd give it a rest, maybe Squall was having enough trouble already, maybe his mind was already too stressed out to handle the truth, Laguna thought...If he knew Squall wouldn't take it lightly, he might as well wait for the opportune moment to speak to Squall...maybe when everything was over... Although being a bit sad and depressed, Laguna tried his best to smile all the time...he knew that if he transmitted good vibes to the others they would be much more successful...he wasn't going to fall apart now...he couldn't.

'Hey everyone...lets get together... I think we've had enough time on this...lets meet up at the checkpoint...got it everyone?' Laguna asked still in pain...

'Got it...' answered Selphie right away...

'Sure...' answered Quistis a few moments later...

'In a sec!' Zell said eagerly.

Laguna felt a bit hurt with Squall's attitude, not answering his call, like the others, but tried to understand...

'I'll be there.' Squall answered firmly a minute later, making Laguna's heart loosen up a bit.

'Good...thanks guys...' Laguna answered back gladly.

The comrades made their way silently towards the departure point...

Quistis had no choice but to go back, she had to face Seifer again...but it had to be...she wasn't going to let Seifer have his way...he probably expected her to disappear and never appear again like he hopped she would...But that wasn't going to happen, Quistis assured herself. Seifer wouldn't laugh at her again...he wasn't going to be right, she was going to prove him wrong...

Quitis thought seriously on what she was going to do next and decided to finish this mission, she wan't going to let Headmaster Cid down...she had to give her best on this mission, she had to prove him wrong...

Irvine and Selphie strangely spent the whole time silent; they just held each others hand and giggled every time they would catch each other looking at one another at the same time...

They were so relieved they didn't have to hide anymore from each other...it was a great weight taken off their shoulders...

Zell held Rinoa's hand the whole way, trying to show her she was safe, reassuring himself deep down that nothing would happen to her, imaging Squall's face if something did all the time...

Laguna as sad as he was, tried to force a smile on his face, practising on his own so when the time came nobody could tell what was on his mind...

Squall on the other hand, frowned all the way, wondering what the other comrades had found out...while thoughts about his bond with Laguna would insist on intercepting his line of thought, fighting it away all the time at all cost...

Laguna was the first one to arrive there, a few seconds later Seifer and Quistis who remained dead silent, then Rinoa and Zell, then Squall and finally Irvine and Selphie who came walking calmly out of the bushes, with the most normal expression on their faces, as if nothing had happened, very calm, very normal...

'Hi everyone...well, I've heard some dudes talk and it sounds like they are being forced to be here...something weird is going on...' Laguna said shyly as he awaited someone to start speaking as well...

'...they here against their will...' added Squall absentmindly...

'Oh, yeah...Rinoa and I heard some things!...Errr...that Tear Blossom thing is a very powerful plant...sounds like those guys out there have to find it or they'll be "doomed"...!' Zell informed enthusiastically as he looked and all his comrades.

'Laguna, it's not these people we're after...it's someone else...they're innocent...it's not them...' Quistis gasped desperately as a look of fear and preoccupation invaded her pretty face...

'Calm down...Quistis, is everything alright? Are you ok? What happened?...' Laguna asked worriedly.

'...yeah...one of Samuiiha's trolls tried to sack her...he... he...I don't think I've ever sliced anyone's head off before...' he smirked waving his Gunblade coolly...

Quistis remained silent for a while, realising it had been Seifer who saved her...this made her mad, real mad...it was humiliating...being saved by her enemy...it was the worst there could be...she preferred to die then to thank him...

'...Quistis!...what did they do to you?' Selphie asked worriedly as both her and Rinoa ran quickly up to her and held her cold trembling hands as they starred at her...

'I'm fine girlse...I don't want to talk about it...' she mumbled...

'Quistis...is there anything else you need to tell us!' Squall approached Quistis to look in her eyes...

'Yes...' she said under her breath...'we have to get out of here...we shouldn't be here...they are killing people out there...we have to move...' she said feebly as she breath in slowly and nervously...

'...where must we go?...' Squall questioned her a bit puzzled...

'...I don't know...to these soldiers home perhaps...that's their base...Samuiiha's soldiers...' she mumbled...

'...Samuiiha...who the hell is that!...I'll whoop him out so badly, he won't know what hit him...!' asked Zell furiously as he punched the air in his usual violent manner...

'...they are in Ganahir...' groaned Seifer as he leaned against a tree coolly...

'...Ganahir, the forest...near the Shummi Village...that's where we must go...' Quistis gasped.

'Right...thanks Quistis that was of great help...you too Seifer...let's head back to the cabin...we can plan everything there...I think we've got some maps...' murmured Laguna as he started walking off into the bushes...

'C'mon...' groaned Squall as he followed Laguna...

_**To be continued...**_


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12:**

The comrades made their way back through the bushes to the river side where the others awaited them anxiously…

As they reached the platform, Laguna knocked on the door…

'Why is the forest so silent!...' asked Zone once again from the inside, with a pinch of enthusiasm in his voice…

'Errr…Zone…just open the door, alright?…it's Laguna…c'mon…' Laguna couldn't remember the password and wasn't really into playing games, he really had no patience left in him, he was feeling miserable and felt a bit stressed…

'Sorry, dude…password is password…now c'mon…why is the forest so silent!' Zone insisted…

'Rats…Zone, if you don't open this flipping d…' Laguna was loosing his temper…

'…because the owls have flown away?' said Selphie innocently as she approached the door and pressed her ear against the door gently...

The door opened with a loud creak…

'Yeah…that's it…thanks Selphie…' Laguna felt stupid, trying to cover up by forcing a smile …

'…you're welcome…' she sighted tiredly…

'…man, I'm tired…' grumbled Zell as he threw himself on the dirty mouldy bed with no care whatsoever…

'…crap, these are itchy…and far too tight for my licking…these guys must have some drag queen influence in the clothing design…urgh…' Zell took the sweater off and threw it far away as he laid down on the bed and scratched his naked chest irritably…

'…so how did it go?...nobody found us out, have they? ' asked Watt worriedly…

'…no need to worry, Watt the "base" is safe…' sneered Rinoa giving Watt a cute smile and a pat on the shoulder as she walked passed him and sat on the floor next to Irvine.

'...that's good…I'm tired of swapping bases all the time…

'…what now, Squall?' asked Selphie as she sat on the bed next to Zell who both observed him…

'…I suppose we should talk to Cid, plan what to do next…I'm not really sure where that Ganahir Forest is…do we have any maps? ' Squall asked whoever was around him…

'Oh, yes…here…' Kiros who was sitting on an old scruffy armchair got up and started scratching in some draws that stood next to a desk where a whole bunch of screens, keyboards and other funny looking electronic stuff stood, apparently it had been set up while they had been out…

'Here, brand new…best make, pretty rare around these grounds…' chuckled Kiros as he handed the map to Squall friendly.

'…thanks…' Squall sat down on the floor and stretched the map out, starting to scour around with his finger…

'…north of Shummi village…Hirouth, Kraick…Ganahir…' Seifer walked up to where Squall was and with his Gunblade started pointing out the numerous forests he knew, making a hole in the place where Ganahir forest was, smirking at him provocatively once again and placing the Gunblade next to Squall's throat…

'…I didn't ask for your help…' groaned Squall as he gave Seifer a fearless, hating look in his eyes, ignoring the fact that he had a weapon right in front of him, ready to slit his throat.

'… not very nice, are you…? I'll teach you some manners…repeat with me…'thank- you- Sir- Almasy-it's- a- pleasure- to- be- whooped- by- you-once again…' c'mon Squally…don't be shy…you've done this before haven't you?…now apologise on your knees…c'mon…' Seifer tightened his Gunblade against Squall's throat, making the cruel cold blade touch the skin on Squall's neck, making him feel vulnerable, trying to resist moving…

Rinoa who had been sitting on the floor next to Irvine, had got up that moment in fear and approached the two rivals, trying to pull Seifer away, but he just pushed her away brutally, making her stumble and collapse painfully on the floor, remaining there in shock as Seifer continued to smirk….

'…Seifer what on earth are you doing!' Laguna gasped in shock as he observed what was going on…

'…dude, that is sick!...' shouted Zell as he sat up quickly….

'…so? Aren't you gonna thank me…or do you prefer for me to spill some of your blood…?...oh that would be hard to clean, huh?...Squall's dirty blood all over the shack…'

Squall just got up slowly…staring into Seifer's eyes with a frown of hatred, fury and no fear on his face…

'Squall !...' Rinoa gasped still sitting on the floor wondering what she could do to help…

As Squall rose, Seifer held his Gunblade higher following Squall's neck with a grin on his face, threateningly…

And before anyone could even breathe, Squall grabbed the blade with both hands, yanked it out of Seifer's reach, threw it on the ground carelessly, and as Seifer tried to attack him, Squall just pulled Seifer's arm and flipped him over his shoulder, making Seifer fall so hard onto the floor, the fall had broke some of the old floor wooden panels…

Seifer tried to get up in a rush, his whole back was in pain, but he wasn't going to let Squall win. Squall turned around to early for Seifer and kneeled down as he pushed Seifer back down brutally by his arms, making his head bang on the floor hardly. He stared into Seifer's semi-closed frightened yet mocking eyes threateningly…

'…don't mess wit me Seifer, you don't want to…' Squall groaned angrily between his teeth…but Seifer didn't surrender…His blue eyes frowned hatefully as more provocative words came out of his mouth…

'…what if I do…?' Seifer grinned challengingly as he grabbed the Gunblade that laid beside him, lift up, pushing Squall backwards. Without any other word, both of them got on their feet drew their Gunblades and in a loud sharp noise of the fury of two Guinblades scraping past, both weapons had clenched onto each other simultaneously with all the force both Seifer and Squall had in their arms…They did this a few times, clenching their swords together, both of them trying to hurt one another, but their attacking and defending was so synchronized, the only result was Squall and Seifer's growls of fury and effort as they fought and the loud, quick and furious rushing of their swords…

'…then I'll give it to ya…' Squall, seething with anger, then groaned as he in a rapid swing of his sword beat unprepared Seifer's Gunblade, making him almost fly with that strong impulse, having his back hit against the door violently and break it…Seifer looked up in fury and pain, got up a little feebly and stared concentrating, trying to disturb Squall's mind with that provocative look, who now was more furious than ever, his darkened eyes frowning in desire to slit Seifer's throat…

'…Squall, Seifer!…stop this crap right now!…you're on the same team…you can't fight each other like this…stop it guys!…' Laguna tried to split both of the rebellious teenagers as he followed them out of the cabin, Squall taking big fast steps towards the door, following Seifer as he raised his Gunblade once again, trying to hit Seifer with all his might…

'Laguna's right guys, stop it…Squall please, just calm down…' Rinoa followed Laguna and tried to calm things down…

'Not 'til I'm done…so Squall…enjoying my second hand things, are you?...I hear you and miss Big-Heart are mating… ' Seifer smirked as he defended himself, once more having their blades clench furiously…

'…she was never yours…' groaned Squall as he grazed Seifer's Gunblade violently…

'…isn't that sweet?... the puberty boy tries to defend his first girlfriend…I wonder if he has ever scored with her!...most probably not, huh!...what's the matter, Squall...she won't let you?...not man enough…?...your body hasn't evolved yet?...that's too bad…' .Seifer tried his best to infuriate Squall…and it was working…

'…shut your f#ing mouth, I'll kill you!' yelled Squall as he furiously jumped off the steps of the cabin's platform and banged Seifer's Gunblade repeatedly with his, approaching the bushes as they dwelled further…

'Squall! Don't!...' Rinoa yelled as she saw both of them move away…

'C'mon Squall kick his lily ass!' yelled Zell from the window…

'Zell! Don't make things worse!...' Selphie gasped worriedly as she watched the whole scene.

'Do I have to!...This is as worse as it gets…' Zell continued watching attentively Seifer and Squall's Gunblades clenching on one another violently…

Rinoa without saying a word took a few steps forward opened and raised her hand in their direction, closed her eyes and concentrated…a blinding energetic light shot out of her hand powerfully as it involved the whole river side for a few seconds making a deafening loud echoing sound…

She opened her eyes…the light faded away slowly, making a sharp sound as it faded away…

Squall and Seifer had froze…they were in the same positions, Squall raising his Gunblade with both his hands as Seifer held his hand open to use magic…Squall just started yelling furiously as he couldn't move one inch of his body, he was completely paralysed, frozen…Seifer on the other hand had passed out, his eyes were closed and his small mouth open, he didn't resist the energetic wave…

Rinoa ran up to Squall worriedly, while the Laguna made a gesture to tell the others to get back inside….

'Squall calm down…Squall…listen to me…hey…' Rinoa put her hands on his face caringly…Squall just went on panting and yelling, trying his best to move…with all the strength he had…

'…don't Squall, keep still…_please_ calm down…Squall do you hear me?...' Rinoa continued touching and stroking Squall's face, trying to take his fury away…

'…Argh! I can't move!…' Squall groaned still panting as he grinded his teeth furiously looking at Seifer…

'…Shhh…Squall, listen to me…' Rinoa insisted, whispering in his ear soothingly, her breath touching his ear pleasantly, softly, feather-like…

'…I'll kill him…!' he groaned furiously breathing so fast his lungs would even ache, sweat was already dripping off his cold angry face….

'…shh…no no…you can't , Squall…you're not like that…he wants to provoke you, that's what he wants and it's working…don't let him have his way…you'll be doing him a favour…just leave him, Squall it's not worth it…don't let him do this to you…_please_'

'...' Squall just stared into the distance anxiously, swallowed and breathed deeply, still panting furiously…

'…just don't think about it…' Rinoa whispered to him as he stared into her eyes anxiously, still frowning and breathing nervously, his painful eyes hidden by some of his hair. Rinoa passed her hand on his face, now that he looked into her eyes, taking the hair out of his face and put her arms around him comfortingly…

'…relax…it'll soon go away…' she whispered reassuringly…

As her hands reached around his back, Squall closed his eyes, licked his dry lips and took a deep breath. He started feeling less tense; less anxious…his muscles were gaining their strength again…

A few seconds later, still being embraced by Rinoa, he dropped his Gunblade and put his arms around her too, paused his head on her shoulder comfortingly, closing his eyes, feeling completely flabbergasted by the whole situation…he just wanted to hug her…it was the only thing that would make him feel better…he was very tired and very sad, he felt miserable…

'…love you…' Rinoa said under her breath as her voice sounded as if she cried…

Squall just tightened their embrace and kissed her neck lovingly in such a way to say the same…

'…don't ever do that again…I don't want you ever to die…' she cried softly…

'…I won't die…' Squall mumbled bleakly…

'…Squall…promise me you won't ever do that again…don't ever pay attention to him…I don't want you to get hurt…he will kill you if he has a chance…' Rinoa looked into his eyes anxiously, taking hold onto his strong built arms…

'…I-I can't…' he groaned staring into the distance as a frown grew on his face…

'…but Squall, you can't go on like this, he's destroying your life…you can't allow him to provoke you this way…look what he made you do…'

'…you don't understand…I can't promise that, Rin…it's more complexed than you think…' Squall placed his hand on his forehead in frustration…

'…don't say that…y-you know you can, you just don't want to because you hate him so badly…you're hurt with all the things he has said about you, all the things he has done and now you want to take revenge on him…I know it, it's that isn't it?' she looked into his eyes as she gasped these words.

'…Rinoa, don't do this to me…I don't wanna talk about it…I'm tired…' Squall looked at her then far away in anxiety and sadness…

'…Squall, sooner or later you'll have to face this…you _can't_ go on like this…you _have_ to ignore Seifer…he wants you dead and I can't take this anymore…_please_ Squall…promise me you won't do anything stupid…promise me you won't get involved in a fight again…_please_…' she insisted worriedly, still holding on to his arms…

'..I can't…I'm sorry…don't make me promise something I can't…I can't control it, Rin…it's stronger than me…don't you see?...' Squall gasped now holding on to her arms, jerking her slightly as he gasped.

'…I see I can't get through to you, Squall…Fine…well if keeping yourself alive is too much to ask, Squall, then go ahead, go fight him until you have no more hatred in you…do as he wants…I couldn't care less…just do me a favour and before you get killed remember what you've promised me…' Rinoa cried, tears growing in her eyes, she felt hurt with Squall's attitude…He promised never to leave her, she didn't want him to get killed…she wouldn't survive…

'Rin…don't…Rin…wait…!' Squall tried to follow Rinoa, who had ran into the cabin, but his leg had cramped up, making him stumble and forced him to sit down on the ground earthy, humid ground…

A few seconds later, Zell and Irvine came out and approached Seifer's frozen body…

'…Yo Squall, what's up? Rinoa's kind of tense!...' Zell shouted out as he stretched out a hand to help Squall lift up…

'…' Squall got up, picked his Gunblade up, swung it over his shoulder and walked out of sight towards the river side…

'…geez…what's happened to him?...it's getting tough getting around with girls nowadays…DUDE! I've got the greatest of ideas!...let's whoop Seifer out when he wakes up!' Zell suggested excitedly as he punched Seifer's back carelessly in enthusiasm…

'…ah…that's no good…I've got a better idea, dude….' Irvine smiled mischievously as he slapped Seifer's unconscious face in mockery…

'Oh yeah?…Spit it out, dude!. C'mon!...' Zell awaited Irvine to tell his idea…

Squall made his way towards the river side, far from the cabin, where the only thing he could see were trees, bushes and pebbles…

He just walked along slowly thinking of what happened out there with Seifer and Rinoa…

The anger inside him was so strong; he urged so much to destroy everything around him. Seifer was provoking him all the time to see how far he could get. He knew that what Seifer really wanted was to destroy his relationship with Rinoa and his SeeD career…The two things Seifer couldn't have…

But as much as Squall knew that was what made Seifer provoke him all the time, he couldn't help wanting to kill him…It was stronger then him, all those years of being provoked by Seifer made him burn with anger inside. Seifer was jealous Rinoa was now with Squall, after all she had been with him before Squall had came into the picture and the moment he saw Rinoa take Squall's side, he tried to kill her. He took the first opportunity and handed her to Sorceress Adel without hesitating, he couln't love her and if he did it would be a sick one. He was a selfish, heartless and angry beast; he just wanted to destroy everything around him and always with a smile on his face. He loved him self, nobody else, always fought for his own interests and never stopped to think about others. That above all is what made him such a bastard.

Squall at that moment wanted to kill him, for all the things he had done to him and to the people he loved. But there was no way out, he had to control himself and just keep things cool. He just was so sad Rinoa was now angry with him. She wanted him to promise not to do something that he couldn't control. It was in his blood, he couldn't control the urge he had to slice Seifer's head off. It was like a rush of adrenaline that flowed trough his veins uncontrollably, forcing him to raise his Gunblade and hurt the bastard.

He couldn't promise something and then break it. He just couldn't. It was best that way. Rinoa had to understand, she couldn't leave him for this, she couldn't…not because of Seifer…Squall wasn't going to permit that…

'No…she can't…not because of that asshole…I won't have this…' Squall mumbled to himself, still frowning angrily as he walked along the river side lit by the moon's weak light, stopped abruptly and started running towards the cabin as fast as he could.

'No…Kiros…I've tried…I'm tellin' you I have…he won't accept me…I know it…every time I try to approach him…he just leaves me hanging…he hates me…I'll never be a good father…it's too late, Kiros…there's nothing I can do about that…Somehow I fell he knows about this…why is he always avoiding me!...argh… I just wish Raine was here, she would have known how to deal with this whole thing…she just was the best at solving problems…' Laguna's voice soared from the cabin as Squall walked up the steps slowly not expecting to hear that, making him stop in surprise, he didn't like what he heard…

'No…!' Squall said anxiously under his breath after hearing Laguna speak, loosing the strength in his hands and dropping his Gunblade on the wooden platform, making a terrible loud sharp sound, which made Laguna, Kiros and Ward jump…

Squall jumped off the platform and started running…he didn't know where to go…but he had to get out of there…he didn't care if Laguna had heard him, he just had to leave that place at once…this was too much for him. He couldn't take all this pressure at once…it was just breaking him down inside.

Squall sprinted all the way through the bushes, getting frequently scratched on his face by the dead twigs that rushed by his skin violently, wincing as he ran painfully through that dead Forest, his eyes frowning in a mix of anger, sadness, anxiety and fury…

Squall was lost by now, he had no idea where he was going…or where he was…he didn't care anymore…

Squall had spent most of the time thinking about others, saving others, helping others…but…nobody was there for him now…he was alone…nobody was there for him at that painful moment…

'What was that noise!' Kiros gasped as he heard the sharp noise and opened the door quickly.

'Oh…' Kiros didn't like what his eyes saw.

'Laguna…it's…' Kiros tried to explain but couldn't find the right words…

'What, Kiros? Let me see…what is it?' Laguna made his way towards the door…

'…' Laguna walked out of the cabin and found a large sword on the floor. It was a Gunblade, Squall's Gunblade.

'…h-he was here…he heard everything…' Laguna picked the Gunblade up with both hands gently as he gazed at it hopelessly…

'…everything is going wrong…it wasn't meant to be this way…I was going to talk to him…and now he knows…and I don't know where his gone…he probably despises me by now…' Laguna thought out loud as he walked back inside and sat on the armchair staring at Squall's Gunblade…

'It's Ok Laguna, we'll figure something out…you'll see…I'm sure he'll understand…'Ward punched Kiros on his arm to say something comforting…

'…yeah…well I'm not so sure about that…he's a tough kid and he's not used to the idea of having a father yet…I'm not sure he'll ever be…not with a looser father like me…' Laguna mumbled bleakly as he placed the Gunblade on the floor next to the chair…

Suddenly Quistis, Rinoa and Selphie walk in…

'…feeling better?' Selphie asked Rinoa still holding her hand friendly…

'Yeah…thanks girls…you've been a great help…I'm sorry for everything…' Rinoa smiled weakly as she looked at both of them then stared at Laguna who sat on the armchair bleakly staring at his own hands…

'…Laguna?...are you alright?...' Rinoa asked gently as she approached him a bit surprised, not used to seeing Laguna so numb…

'…yeah, I'm fine…just a little tired…' he explained getting up from the chair, taking Squall's Gunblade and placing it in a corner against the wall…

'…where's S-Squall?' Rinoa asked immediately afterwards in a worried tone of voice.

'… he went for a walk…' Kiros answered her confidently.

'…where?' she started getting anxious…

'I don't know, but don't worry, his probably with the others…his fine'

'..and Seifer?' asked Selphie worriedly.

'…' Kiros pointed out at the bed in the corner…

'Oh…' Selphie sighed as she saw Seifer sleeping on the bed.

'Laguna, I'm sorry for interrupting but I think we should contact Cid for new orders…' Quistis gasped seriously.

'Do not worry everything's settled. We rest the night here and tomorrow morning we'll discuss this over with Cid…don't worry….' He murmured tiredly.

'Oh, in that case…thanks, Laguna…' Quistis was glad she could take a rest. She was dead tired, she could barely stand anymore and on top of it she had a lot of painful thoughts on her mind…She looked at Seifer's unconscious body by accident and swerved her eyes quickly, avoiding that disturbing sight.

'…Oh, Ward…take the girls to the other Cabin…you weren't expecting to sleep in this one were you?' Kiros smiled.

'…I was kind of hoping we wouldn't…' chuckled Rinoa.

'…Cool! Another hidden Cabin?' Selphie got all excited she was going to sleep in another cabin.

'…I'm glad we won't have to share that nasty old bed…huff…' Selphie giggled.

'…Selphie!' Quistis smiled in a scolding manner.

Ward waved his arm towards the door in a "ladies first" way and followed them…

'Hey, Irv…I thought you said Squall had gone this way?'

Zell and Irvine were sent to look for Squall by Quistis one hour ago and hadn't found him since…

'Well, yeah…he did…but his gone…nowhere to be found…' Irvine scoured around the river side with Zell…

'Man, I'm getting' tired…we've been here about three times and nothin'…his probably with the others by now…' Zell moaned…

'I guess you're right…I kind of tired myself…Let's head back then…' Irvine agreed with Zell for he was also tired…

'Hey, Irv…'

'Yeah…'

'What were you planning on doing to Seifer? You not gonna back out now are you?'

'Kind of yeah…why?' Irvine answered tonelessly.

'Whoa, dude! What's wrong! I don't know you anymore!...What's happened to you? Where's the attitude?' Zell yelled at Irvine in disappointment…

'Nothing's wrong…it's just that the plan is ruined…Seifer isn't in our hands anymore…got it?' Irvine pulled a dorky face.

'…yeah, I see…well what the plan was anyways?' Zell grinned mischievously.

'…ah…great plan it was…tying Seifer up to a tree in his brooks…oh! The humiliation!' Irvine chuckled loudly as said dramatically the last words…

'Holy-Cow! Irvine… you're a genius!' Zell yelled enthusiastically as he through a hug at Irvine…

'…Whoa whoa…don't take your loneliness out on me, dude…' Irvine pushed Zell off him, straightening his coat out…

'Dude, that's great! I can't believe I never thought about that before!...Man, we have to do that some day!...Revenge will be sweet then, he he!' Zell jumped excitedly as they returned to the cabin, punching Irvine in the arm…

As Irvine and Zell reached the Cabin, they knocked on the door and waited.

'Zell, dude…the lights are out…' Irvine peeped through the window…

'There's a note here!' Zell pulled a piece of paper from under the door.

'What does it say?'

'Err…"We're spending the night in another cabin. Just follow the map. It's quite clear…By the way don't knock on this door, the 'Seifer' is sleeping…you don't want to wake the bear up…

Don't do anything stupid. Kiros"

'I sure hope the cabin ain't far, my legs are tree trunks…' Irvine moaned as he turned around and took a few steps, but Zell pulled him by his collar…

'Dude, don't you know what this means!'

'Don't I know of what means what?' Irvine said annoyed.

' 'The Seifer' is in _the cabin_ and _is sleeping_… make a connection, Irv!' Zell insisted.

A few seconds later…

'Whoa, no Zell…I'm out of here…you heard him…"you don't wanna wake the bear up"…and I don't ,dude…don't count on me…you're on your own…sorry, man…'

'…how could you!...' Zell gasped in disbelief…

'How could I what!' Irvine was feeling quite tired and lacking some patience…

'…how could you loose such a life time opportunity!...It only comes once…and you'll never regret it! C'mon!' Zell tried to convince Irvine to back him up on this plan.

'…fine, fine…what must I do…?' Irvine gave in…

'…Cool!...I love you dude!...' Zell tried to hug Irvine again…

'Whoa…don't push it…or I'll leave right now…' Irvine groaned…

'…Sorry dude…you're the best….you rule!...C'mon…this way…'

And so Zell and Irvine climbed through the window and entered the cabin, took hold of unconscious Seifer, slid him through the window carelessly, took his clothes off (leaving him in his grey boxers and his boots) and tied him to a tree that stood right in front of the cabin, face to face with it…

'…it's just like in my dreams…thanks dude! I appreciate it! You don't know how much this means to me…I'm really touched…' Zell grinned mischievously at Irvine as they both stared at Seifer's sad picture…tied to a tree with nothing on but his brooks and his boots…what a breath taking view…

'Yeah I can imagine…let's go, I'm tired…' Irvine smiled at Zell's satisfaction.

The two rebellious boys then took the map and made their way giggling to the cabin where everyone slept comfortably (except for Seifer really who was completely exposed to bugs and all sorts of animals).

When finally they had reached the cabin almost completely invisible between the darkened trees, they were so tired of laughing on their way, the only thing they did was walking in silently and occupying two heavenly comfortable beds that were at their disposal…

To be continued…

Ok, that was it, I hope you've enjoyed it. All comments accepted, even flamers (take it easy, though- don't chop my head off!). Send me some suggestions if you want, I'd be glad to include them in my fic…Please also send me some suggestions on how to end it, I am a bit boggled up… O

Thanks for reading once again! Thank you so much!

And please review!

Happy Birthday Matita! (31st of October- Halloween hahaha!) Luvies


	13. Chapter 13

**Part 13:**

Meanwhile in the forest bounds….

'…I'm tired of this…it's too much…I can't take it…I don't think I'll be able to look at them ever again…not Rinoa, not Laguna, not anyone…I'm better off alone…I'm heading to Ganahir alone…I don't think I can take having Rinoa stare at me that way…I need to clear my mind…I need a break from all of this…just like it used to be…just me and no one else…' Squall had stopped running grabbed his necklace, ripped it of his neck furiously and threw it on the ground carelessly…

He didn't know why he had done that, he did it so spontaneously, he had no idea what it meant, maybe that he wanted to forget the past and start over new, maybe because he was fed up with himself, he just wanted to be anonymous, a stranger, with no friends or family. He was tired of being Squall Leonhart, deep down that's what the griever really meant, it was his identity, it symbolised everything that he was. This way he could set his mind on what he felt he had to do: fight whoever disturb the world peace.

He slowed down a bit, walking slowly now, for he was very tired. After walking slowly, wondering around the dead part of the forest he bumped into a circular spot of the forest, where the trees created a sort of circle around an old fire and a log.

'Yeah…I'll just stay here for the night and start my journey as soon as the sun rises…' Squall picked up some dry twigs and threw them onto the old fire circle, sat on the log, opened his hand and cast Fire on the dry twigs in front of him, making the twigs burst with warm, bright flames that lit his stressed out face and warmed his cold hands as he thought of the journey he had to make by himself…He had no map and no weapon with him, he had to rely on his luck. This didn't bother him at all, he actually was satisfied not having his Gunblade with him, it meant to much to him, it brought to many memories to his head which would just distract him and cause him pain. It was best this way…

Soon he started feeling tired, his heart felt sore and he was completely warn out, he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer, his chest still ached from the surgery and hadn't eaten anything the whole day…

Soon, the mists that roamed above the river had invaded the dead forest…The humidity and the cold increased, making Squall sleep very uncomfortably with his head against the hard, bumpy log as the fire kept burning cheerfully…

A few hours later, after experiencing a horrific nightmare, Rinoa had lifted up from her bed, gasping for air out of fright and anxiety…The dream seemed so real, she hardly could understand where she was in all the darkness…The only thing she could hear was the singing of birds outside, soon she came to her normal self and realised she had been dreaming, not remembering what it had been about anymore, probably because of the trauma…

Rinoa sat up slowly in her bed as she stared outside the tiny window from where the moonlight shinned weakly; making it possible to only see a few outlines of the furniture and the people in the beds…She started to daydream…

She tried hard to remember what she had been dreaming about, not making it. A few seconds after giving up on trying remembering her nightmare, her mind flew to somewhere else…

'…don't make me promise something I can't…' his voice roared in her mind as a painful frown grew on her face, forcing her to turn her neck as soon as she thought of him and search for him in one of the darkened beds…She looked from one side to another, it was too dark, she could hardly see anything, only the outlines of people's bodies…

Rinoa got up from her bed then and took a few steps; she then pointed out her finger and unconsciously made light shine through her finger. This made her jump…She had done magic without even knowing it…After staring at her lit finger for a few seconds in amazement she raised her finger searching as she moved the light over the beds, starting from the far corner of the cabin, then to the front, she saw Zell, Quistis and Laguna. She then searched more to the right moving her finger quickly to the opposite side of the cabin, and in a split of a second passing by an empty bed, but not really noticing it…Five seconds later when she saw Kiros, Ward, Selphie and Irvine, she pointed back to the empty bed and stared at it…

'…he isn't here…' she thought to herself as her mouth opened slightly in disbelief at the sight of an untouched bed where Squall should've been sleeping, but he wasn't, something was wrong…

'…no…' Rinoa searched desperately around the room, passing by all the beds, not finding him…

Rinoa then without hesitating, made her way between the beds, towards the door, where she sighted Squall's Gunblade leaning against the wall, grabbing it with both hands with some difficulty by its handle, opening the door nervously, shutting it softly and sprinting towards the forest, not knowing in which direction she had to go, following her intuition…

'...Where have you gone…?...don't do this to me…' she gasped as she ran through the bushes, holding onto the Gunblade with one hand and pointing out with the other as she searched for him…

The only thing she could hear was the twigs scrapping past her and the birds singing out loudly in the trees above. The forest seemed endless, she was tired and Squall was nowhere to be found…

'…no…' she kept running through the bushes as fast as she could go, but her legs were tired and it was blistering cold, the mist didn't help at all either, blurring her vision in all directions…

'…please…' she cried softly as she took feeble steps, running a bit now and then, looking all around for him, but he seemed to be nowhere. Soon a feeling of frustration, bleakness and fear of never seeing him again invaded her chest…

Rinoa had been searching through the infinite bushes for him, not giving up, she went on until her legs couldn't carry her any further, forcing her to stop, drop onto the ground and rest, she was exhausted…

'…I don't believe this…you said you wouldn't leave me...how could you!' she gasped under her breath as her eyes started tearing, wiping them away constantly as she whimpered softly and stared anxiously at the misty trees that surrounded her, holding tightly onto her necklace…

Rinoa started to calm down, wiping her tears away as her finger continued to shine strongly with the blinding light. She got back onto her feet, supporting her self on Squall's Gunblade and started to walk slowly, dragging the weapon on the floor as she walked, dragging her feet slightly as well, out of weakness. She had no idea where she was, she was completely lost and couldn't find Squall, realising then she had been stupid to just leave the cabin that way without thinking twice or warning anyone. She walked slowly dragging her feat tiredly as she carried Squall's weapon in one hand, not knowing where she had to go. Suddenly as she took another painful step, she felt something under her foot…

She removed her foot away slowly, taking a step backwards as she looked down in wonder…

A dirty metal chain shinned, she bent down slowly in surprise as she stared at it and dusted the chain with her hand gently as a figure was revealed under the dust…It was the griever, Squall's necklace lied on the floor, full of mud, still shinning gracefully as the first few rays of light shinned through the tree branches…

'…' a look of deep sorrow and sadness took over her tired face as she bent over to pick the necklace up, staring at it with fear, a million of frightening thoughts passing through her mind, and tucked it in her back pocket as she went on making her hopeless way through the endless forest.

Rinoa started to pick some wild berries as she walked along the forest for her stomach lurched of hunger, trying to put aside all horrible frightening thoughts while the sun rose gracefully.

Most of the bushes were dead, only a few bushes remained alive.

Her hand was full of black berries when suddenly as she reached out her hand to pick some more out of a bush, she started to hear the crackling sound of lively flames…Rinoa stopped and listened carefully…it came from the bushes behind her…

'...what the…?' she thought to herself as she took a few steps slowly towards the bushes from where the sound came from…

The sound became clearer as she approached the bushes, starting to see a faint light from between the twigs; she made her way through them, getting brutally scratched, but not caring about. She was tired, he feat were sore, she was hungry and a few more scratches didn't really make a difference to the pain and tiredness she was felon. Rinoa found herself in an empty spot of the forest where the trees created a sort of circle around a fire and an old log, where a mysterious person's rested…Rinoa swallowed, breathed in deeply and started approaching the person…

The strong trembling lively flames lit the circle, creating huge moving shadows making the whole situation kind of scary…but she didn't care. She was curious and wasn't really her normal self, she didn't really want to think about anything. She was tired, and felt a bit of hope now she saw she wasn't completely alone. She had to see who was resting there, maybe that person could help her find Squall or at least get back to the others to call for help. If the person was hostile, she had no idea what she would do, anyway, she had nothing to loose. She was lost and Squall had left her on her own, how worse could things be? If that person wanted to kill her, she couldn't defend herself, she was helpless, even with Squall's Gunblade, she hardly could hold it any longer, it was too heavy…She didn't care, she just wanted to find Squall and see him for the last time and tell him she was sorry. She was sure that Squall had given up on her, but before he parted from her, she felt the need to tell him she was sorry. She held on tightly onto Squall ring and approached the person…

Rinoa took slow silent steps, stretching her neck, trying to get a better view of whoever that was, but the person's face was completely darkened, so she took a few more steps closer and as her eyes caught sight of the person in front of her, her mouth hung open in disbelief. She blinked twice in order to see if she was having a hallucination, but she looked again and it wasn't. It was perfectly real. She paused the Gunblade on the floor slowly walked over to the person, stepped over the log and fell on her knees as she finally confirmed it was the boy she looked for…

Rinoa touched his face caringly as she tilted her head lovingly and with a peaceful expression stared at him with most love.

Squall was fast asleep, he had his arms crossed and his head was bent over his chest as his untidy silky hair covered his tired face, with a tense frown on his face. His eyes were all swollen and his face was all scratched up, bruised with dry blood on his lips and nose. Rinoa had never seen Squall look so tired before, he really looked finished, completely exhausted, pale, very thin and hurt. Even after his surgery in Dollet he had looked a little healthier and happier too. But now…he was just in a terrible state. They hadn't eaten for hours and Squall had been looking this thin for some time now…Rinoa was worried about him. She just kept silent, cuddled up next to him and put her arm around his neck caringly and the other one around his waist as she watched him sleep, breathing in and out deeply. Tears rushed down her heart-shaped face. She didn't know why she was crying, maybe because she felt like for a moment she had lost him and now he was there in her arms, maybe because she was sorry for the way she had talked with him, maybe because she could feel his pain, maybe a bit of everything…She didn't even care about the whole Seifer scene. Deep down she understood what Squall meant with not being able to help himself, and was sorry she had been so selfish, not thinking about his past conflicts with Seifer, they had left a deep mark on him…Right now, all she wanted was to forget all that, he was there, that's all that mattered…

Rinoa leaned her head on his shoulder and simply looked at him sleeping…

'…what am I without you…' she thought to herself.

_To be continued…_

Ok that's part 13…I know, I know it's small! I'm kind of lacking the time to write (lots of exams, you see?) Don't worry I'll update soon…I have plenty of ideas in my head and I think they'll be quite nice…

Well, I hope you've enjoyed this chappie and thanks for reading once again, thank you so much!…

Please Review…it makes me so happy! O,

Oh, and I would like to thank Holulu and Thyana and MafGoldenHeart for reviewing…thanks guys! Those words mean so much to me…sniff


	14. Chapter 14

**Part 14:**

Rinoa spent the next few hours that way, just gazing at the painfully tired boy, who slept deeply with a peculiar frown on his warn out face.

As the hours went by, Rinoa thought about the whole situation. Why Squall had ran away, why he had left his Gunblade behind, why he had dropped his necklace on the forest grounds. She couldn't help thinking about all of that. But after thinking so much, she had come to a logical conclusion. If Squall had left his Gunblade, his Griever and everybody else behind, it was because he didn't want anything to do with them anymore. Certainly he had a reason. And she was quite sure it was a good one. Of course he couldn't just forgive her that way, she thought. She had been so harsh on him, so disrespectful, so heartless. Squall wanted to be on his own and she had to respect that. She could only think of this option, from what she knew of Squall, he would have never just abandoned his Gunblade or his Griever. As he himself had said, it had great importance to him. He must have had been very down to just react this way. He must have been feeling like abandoning himself, forgetting his past, his identity. She couldn't let him break down like that, she thought. He wasn't going to loose his identity, she wasn't going to let him. He could be on his own again, he could leave her and never come back, but she wasn't going to let him break down this way, he wasn't going to forget who he was. His identity nobody could put away, not him, not anyone.

Rinoa had decided. As much as she loved him, she couldn't force him to be with her, she had to respect his decisions and chose what was best for him. She didn't want him to suffer, if she was the cause of it.

'…Squall…this is it, I guess… where our story ends…I love you, that's why I'm doing this... because I know this is what you need…to be on your own again…I don't hold it against you…I know it's what you need, it's your true nature to be alone and not I nor anyone can change that…I wont feel the same for anyone else...and for your own good, don't abandon your identity…you are Squall…Squall Leonhart…Don't ever forget that…You are one of the greatest SeeD's ever known…you have saved the world from the hands of the most powerful sorceress and crossed time lines not anyone can…you are brave like no one else I've ever known and nobody can deny what you have done…don't ever forget that…' she whispered as she continued glaring at him sadly…

'…I must go…don't hate me…this is the last thing I ask you…don't hate me for the things I've done…everything I did, was either because I love you so much… or because I was scared to loose you…please remember me as the one who loves you no matter what...you are always in mind and above all in my heart…you stand first in here…' Rinoa got up slowly, tears growing in her eyes and kept staring at him with great sorrow…but she knew it was right, she had to do this, it was for his own good. This was how much she loved him, enough to live far away from him, separate lives, just to help him get back on his feet…

Before leaving she placed his Gunblade next to him carefully and then sat back on her knees to put his necklace back around his neck, where it belonged.

As she tried to clip the necklace back together, Squall's suddenly raised his arm and grabbed her hand…Rinoa had caught the fright of her life…

Squall's eyes were closed; he was sleeping, but somehow was semi-conscious.

'…nah…' he mumbled, his voice trembling as he started gasping desperately…

Rinoa stood still, shocked; Squall was talking in his sleep…

'…n…na…no…' he mumbled softly now frowning even more, his hair still hiding his stressed face…

'…Rin…no…' he mumbled now in great sadness as he winced slightly and shook his head…

'…don'…please…sorr…y…don'…go…' he moaned sadly as if he were about cry…

Squall talked in his sleep as he continued laying his head against the log, his chin still touching his chest with his legs spread out as the lively fire lit his face hidden by his untidy hair.

'…Squall?...what is it?' Rinoa gasped softly as she stared at him, brushing his hair out of his sore face with her fingers as he winced and whimpered softly.

Squall then pushed himself a little up the log with his legs making his head hang over the log as he winced a bit more…

'…don't go…' he murmured more clearly now…

'…Squall…' she looked at him in fear as he continued holding her arm, now tighter…

'…I thought you didn't want me around anymore…' she murmured as her voice trembled nervously…

'…s'too much…' he murmured bleakly still with his eyes shut…

'…too much?… what?...' Rinoa was confused; she continued staring at him awaiting him to respond.

'…too much… I can't take…' he moaned now jerking his chest upwards…

'...I'll kill him…kill…' he groaned, swallowing hardly as he banged his other hand on the log, moving his head irritably from one side to another…

'…no, Squall…'

'…he wants to hurt you, Rin…he wants to take you from me…don't you see!...' Squall murmured now lifting his head up and dropping it down again.

'…don't leave me…not again…' he moaned so softly you could barely hear him …

'…I'm here…I'm not going anywhere…I promise…' Rinoa's heart broke at the sound of these words as tears rushed down her face. She tried to comfort his anxiety, brushing his hair backwards as she approached him and wrapped her arms around him…

'…just relax…don't worry, I'm right here…' she whispered in his ear, holding him closer to her…

Squall started to relax, his body started to feel less tense and his breathing slowed down a bit…

'…what are we fighting for? I don' wanna fight no more…' he mumbled as he pulled her hand closer to his…

'…stupid things…I don't want to fight either, really I don't…these things happen all the time…it's all my fault…I should've understood what you felt at that moment…I'm so sorry, Squall…please forgive me…' she touched his face, begging him for forgiveness as her chest burned with emotion…

'…lo..ve you…' he murmured softly.

Rinoa smiled still touching his face lovingly.

'…b-beautiful hands…' he murmured as a little smile grew in the corner of his mouth…

Rinoa smiled delightedly. She wasn't used to having Squall talk so from the heart and so openly…It was weird, but it felt good. She found Squall so charming when he talked openly.

After gazing at him for a few moments, rubbing his face gently with her fingers, a thought started to take over her mind.

'Squall…' she continued to stroke his face…

'…why did you run away…?' she asked gently as she continued stroking his sore face...

Squall's smile faded away slowly…'…Laguna…' he murmured as his lips suddenly dropped down in sadness and a painful frown appeared again, making him get all restless, his heart pounding and his breathing fastened.

'Laguna? W-what happened…did you fight?' Rinoa questioned worriedly…

'…he's my father…' he murmured now shutting his eyes tightly, turning his face away…

'…what!' Rinoa squeaked in disbelief as she clapped her hand on her mouth…

'…how…when…how do you know?...I don't get it…' she whispered now pulling his face back in her direction as she felt his hand slowly let go of hers…

'…he wants me… to be his son…and I can't…I can't be…I can't!' Squall started grabbing the log furiously with his other hand started pulling his own hair…

'Urgh!...' he groaned as he tortured himself, shutting his eyes tightly as he groaned furiously…

'…why now?...' he grumbled as he pulled his hair tightly and starting scratching his own face…

'Squall…stop!' Rinoa pulled his hand away as he fought her with his arms, insisting on hurting himself…

'…I can't!...I hate myself!...I can't…I just can't be that…' he groaned loudly as he stretched his neck backwards in anxiety, wincing and started to whimper loudly, deeply in sadness. He continued to grab the log furiously with both hands as he cried out loudly…

'…I can't!...not now…I'm too tired…It's too late…I can't…s'too late…' he whimpered as his deep voice roared so sadly, it made Rinoa want to cry too…

Squall just went on whimpering loudly as he shut his eyes tightly and wrinkled his nose as if he suffered…

'… Squall…I'm so sorry…you don't have to talk about it…really…forget it…I'm stupid for bringing this up…just forget it…' she cried out as she watched him move his whole body tensely and restlessly...

Rinoa then forgot the idea of leaving him. She couldn't leave with him in this state. He didn't want her to leave. He needed her now more than ever…she wasn't going anywhere…

She sat closer to him and put her arms around him comfortingly as he continued to move around restlessly and whimper in sadness.

'…Rin…' he mumbled as he continued hiccupping.

'shh…I'm right here…we're together, that's all that matters right now, huh?…don't think about Laguna or Seifer, you don't have to…just rest…relax…shh…' she brushed his hair out of his face as he started to calm down slowly but surely…

'…I miss you…' Squall murmured softly as he continued to sleep, now much calmer…

Rinoa kissed his forehead in response as a little tear grew in her eye and she held him tightly in her arms closer to her chest as she rocked him around slowly, comfortingly…

There, part 14…

Did you like that? Please review and tell me what you think…I'm very grateful…

I'm sorry if there's a cheese overdose here, but this is what music does to me, ya know?

Thanks for reading once again and keep on reviewing…take two seconds of your life to make me happy, ok? Thanks for reading, thank you so much…

Right now I'm listening to The Rasmus, one of my favourite bands. yay:))))


	15. Chapter 15

**Part 15:**

The sun had been up for an hour or so and the first one up was Zell. He sat outside the cabin, sitting on the porch as he wrapped his arms around his legs, feeling a little cold, but bearing with it as he continued observing the birds flying around happily.

cLicK The door opened softly. Zell turned his neck around to see who came to join him.

'…morning.' He greeted Quistis with a cute smile.

'…morning Zell. Have you been up for long?' she asked as she sat down next to him.

'…kinda, yeah…'

'…couldn't sleep, huh?' Quistis smiled, patting his shoulder and sitting down next to him..

'Yeah…I guess.' He continued looking forward as he rubbed his hands together and blew his breath into them in order to warm them up.

'…is there anything bothering you?' she asked as she looked at him inquisitively.

'…naaah!...it's nothin' really…just some silly thoughts…' he smiled at her sheepisly, covering up for what his true feelings were.

'…it's usually those silly thoughts that bring us the most hurt, you know?' Quistis now kept her eyes on the forest as if she really meant what she had said.

'…wouldn't be surprised…' he murmured dreamily.

'…you bet…' she went on.

'…I'm an expert at those…' he said.

'Really?…then tell me...what's on your mind?' she asked.

'…' he remained silent as he looked in her eyes thoughtfully.

Zell opened his mouth to start talking, but lost his courage and turned his face away again.

'…cat got your tongue?' Quistis chuckled.

'…bah…forget it…it's stupid anyways..' he flapped his hand in a "never mind" sort of way.

'…c'mon…there's nothing to be ashamed of…I've heard all types of thoughts, you are just another one of them…now shoot…c'mon!' she smiled comfortingly.

Zell looked at her worriedly, smiled back, and turned his face back to the forest.

'…Quistis…don't laugh, but…if…I mean…if...umm…well…errr…'he started.

'…let me guess…it's about girls…am I right?' Quistis smiled.

'…whoa…' Zell jerked as he gave her a surprised look.

'…hey, don't worry…it's normal…you're a guy, just like others…you have the right…' Quistis tried to help him feel more at ease.

'…yeah…I know, but it's kind of hard to explain…' he couldn't find the words to what he felt.

'…I liked this girl, she was really hot, funny and…she seemed to dig me as well…but the other day…the other day I caught her hanging on this bloke…_asshole…(he banged his fist in his other hand)_…I went like crazy…and I was down, really down…'till I realised she wasn't for me…I had better things to worry about...but…'

Zell looked down bleakly.

'…but…still, I feel strange…'

'…well, I think it's normal, after all you liked her and she let you down, right? And for what you said , she seemed to like you too, but even though she didn't take that into consideration...I mean it really depends on how much that person really meant to us…but to me she really doesn't seem to deserve you, does she?' Quistis replied with a friendly and confident smile.

'…I know, but it's strange…I feel put aside…I mean, not exactly put aside but…maybe a bit weird, damn! I can't find the words…!' Zell clapped his forehead in frustration.

'…you mean lonely…don't you?' Quistis looked at him understandingly, now with the smile fading off her face.

'…yeah…I guess it's that…' Zell dropped his head on his knees.

'…I know what it's like…' Quistis started curling her hair with her finger as she looked far away.

'it's like…everyone around me has someone…everyone is happy…you know?...everyone except… for me…' Zell explained now as he managed to speak out what truly hurt him…

'…I know, I know…it's stupid…but you asked…and that's the truth…I can't help it…' Zell mumbled as he gave a quick glance at Quistis's face and then in shame turned his face away quickly, holding his head with both his hand…

'…just don' tell on me now ok…?' he murmured softly now digging his face in his arms.

'…'course I won't…but Zell, it's not stupid. Really, if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that what you feel isn't stupid, to the contrary…you have all the right in the world to feel like this. Besides, I know what it's like. I've been there myself. Still am, if you ask me…I just learned to handle with it…it's been a long time, you know?'

'…whoa…Quisty I had no idea you also…really?…I thought I was being...whoa...' Zell turned his neck to face her, in surprise. He was so glad he wasn't the only one that felt that way. He was feeling down all this time because he thought he was becoming a nut. After all there was someone who shared exactly the same fears and pains as him.

'…well, I'm just glad you got that off your chest. It's not healthy to walk around with so much doubt and pain. It's good to share what you're feeling, you know? I would have done anything to have someone to talk to myself…'

'…thanks, Quisty, hey? Thanks for hearing me out…I don't think I've ever talked so openly to anyone before, thanks. Really…' Zell showed his gratitude by taking her hand with both of his hands, looking at her in gratitude with cute grin on his face.

'…my pleasure. I'm glad I could be of help to you. I hope you're feeling better now.' She smiled.

'…much better. Thanks.' Zell smiled at her again, shook her hand slightly and embraced his knees once again.

'…so when are we starting the journey?' Zell asked now changing the subject.

'…I guess when everyone's up and ready…talking about ready, where's Squall and Rinoa? Their beds are empty…Squall's bed is done or untouched…I can't really tell…' Quistis chuckled.

'…well, last night Irvine and I couldn't find him anywhere…so we assumed he had probably came this way…and Rinoa…well I haven't seen her yet. Her bed was empty when I woke up; I thought maybe she had gone out with him…you know…taking time to lovey-dovey together and all that stuff…'Zell chuckled as his spoke threw his red nose.

'…oh, my…Zell…I can't believe this…!'

'What wrong!' Zell looked at her in wonder.

'…Zell, Squall has been missing since last night…and Rinoa…she most probably went looking for him…great!...now they're probably both lost…damn it!' Quistis clapped her hand on her face in desperation…

'…how? But…'

'…no buts, Zell…we have to do something…! Quick!' Quistis started freaking out.

'…c'mon…go wake the others…! I'm going to look for them…WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? C'mon!' Quistis yelled nervously at Zell as she saw him just staring at her…

'…Right! Yes Ma'am!' Zell flew out of her sight into the cabin.

Quistis stood there for one second, cursing herself and looking in all directions, not knowing in which to start searching…

She decided to start looking in the forest area near the base cabin, that's probably where he decided to run off.

Quistis knew something was going on, it must have been because of the fight with Seifer last night. At least she thought so.

She ran as quick as she could, trying to reach the other cabin. She knew she would be taking the risk of getting lost herself, but she had to do something. Squall probably made his way out of Win Hill by now, but Rinoa in such anxiety could have got lost.

Finally she reached the cabin.

'…Seifer…' she thought. She needed some maps, she didn't want to get lost as well, she couldn't. Seifer was in there, she thought. But she needed the maps. She would have to face him sooner or later…

Quistis walked on the plataform, went up the small steps, took a set of keys out of her pocket and opened the door, walking in slowly, trying her best not to make a sound.

The moment she stepped in she looked around. The cabin was empty, Seifer was no longer there. Her eyes then caught up with the open window.

'Oh, no!' she thought.

Quistis was happy Seifer wasn't there, but she knew what it meant. Seifer had probably ran away too, or even worse, probably had followed Squall to fight him…

'This is awful…If anyone of them gets hurt…damn!' she murmured softly.

Quistis then after a few moments of glaring at the tiny open window, mouth openened, she came to her senses and started searching for the map.

Finally when she opened all the draws next to all the monitors, she had found one, taking it out quickly, closing the draw and running out as fast as she could.

'Urgh…!...' a moan roared from near by.

Quistis stopped abruptly to listen carefully…

CLUMP! she heard a loud thump as if a tree had been knocked down…

'Urgh…!...' someone's moaning sounded afterwards. Quistis approached the place from where the noise came from. A loud screech roared, echoing throughout the whole forest. It sounded like some horrible creature, similar to a T-Rex, but squeakier and louder.

Quistis was getting the creeps now. She had no idea what was happing, but she came closer anyway…

'Urgh…!' a painful moan sounded for the third time.

Quistis then made a her quick way towards the trees.

The most unexpected sight: Seifer was tied up to a tree…

'…Seif…' Quistis's mouth dropped down in shock. She strained her eyes to get a better look, then approached him slowly.

Suddenly a huge creature twice the size of Seifer had appeared from behind the tree. It looked like a stumpy white horse, with a huge horn on its head, purple shocking laser eyes and long hair on its head. It looked like some kind of ugly Unicorn.

'…Awe!' Seifer yelled as the Unicorn bumped him with its horn viciously.

'…' Quistis was now even more shocked. She didn't hesitate: she ran up to the ugly creature, drew her Chain-Whip, hit it on the floor to grab its attention.

As soon as the creature had taken its vicious sight off the badly hurt Seifer, Quistis had whipped the Unicorn very hard, making it screech of pain as it made its feeble way towards Quistis, wanting to attack her too.

'…oh no, you don't…' she mumbled softly to herself, now jumping backwards as the creature tried to attack her with its horn.

It only took one harder whip and the fat Unicorn had been beaten…

'…' Quistis now walked slowly towards Seifer. He was completely stripped. Only had his half torn away boxers, which now looked like a pair of slips and his suede knee-high boots…

He was badly hurt, his skin was all badly cut, with a huge wound on his left side, probably from the Unicorn's horn attack. His face was very sweaty, bloody and bruised.

His bruised eyes were half closed, he seemed to just stare forward as he winced now then, when the wind blew stronger.

'…Se-Seifer?' Quistis touched his shoulder as she tilted her head to look at him properly.

Seifer jerked the moment he was touched by her warm hand.

'…Can you hear me?...Seif…'

'…urgh…d-don't touch me…' he murmured as he widened his eyes to look at her.

His look was cold, but it was different to the other looks he had ever given her. This time, his look seemed tired, scared and above all sad.

'…Seifer, what happened to you…?' Quistis looked at him worriedly, ignoring what he had just said.

'…leave me alone…' he mumbled.

'…what happened!...' Quistis insisted with him.

'…I said don't touch me!...' he yelled now as loud as he could, taking a huge breath after wards.

'…will you stop that!...I'm trying to help you!' Quistis started to loose her pacience.

'…go away, I don't need you…' he mumbled now dropping his head down tiredly and closed his eyes.

'…but Seifer, you're not well…you are hurt and you are tied to tree!' Quistis tried to reason with him.

'…it's your fault…you did this…!' he yelled furiously, still with his head down.

'…what!...how can you say that?...I'm here because I'm looking for Squall and Rinoa…they're gone…I didn't even touch you…' Quistis felt insulted by his accusations.

'…are you happy now?...have you laughed enough?' he groaned, breathing asthmatically.

'…listen Seifer, I didn't do anything to you…or you tell me what's going on or I'll leave you here to die…' Quistis grabbed Seifer's naked shoulders and shook him as she spoke furiously.

'…I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME ALONE...!GO AWAY!...I DON'T NEED YOU!' Seifer yelled angrily at her, having no strength afterwards and passing out a few moments later…

'…oh no…Seifer?...talk to me!...damn it! Seifer?...wake up!' Quistis held his face with both hands, slapping his face to wake him up…She then put her finger near his nose…

He wasn't breathing. He had lost his breath.

'…Shit…! Seif…don't do this to me…c'mon…' Quistis started massaging his chest, trying to make him breath. There was no response. Quistis then without hesitating, leaned her body against his, pulled his mouth open and blew as hard as she could…

Seifer wasn't responding…

Quistis tried massaging his chest again, but he wouldn't react…

'…Seifer, no!...please…wake up…' Quistis started panicking and her eyes were already flooding with tears as she held his head in both of her hands worried sick about him…

'…no, you're not dying on me…' she murmered wiping her tears away as she clipped a knife off her belt and cut the rope that held Seifer so tightly to the tree trunk…

As soon as the rope had sprung off Seifer's body, he suddenly woke in a loud choke gasping loudly for air as his body tilted over and as he fell over…

Quistis still tried to hold him up, but he was so heavy that he just fell right on top of her, both of them falling to the grassy ground in a loud clump…

Seifer went on coughing and choking while he just laid on top of her with his head hanging on her shoulder…

'QUISTIS! I'M COMING! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER YOU OAF!' Zell's voice roared loudly as she heard his feet thump on the floor quickly in their direction…

'What do you think you're doing!' Zell pulled Seifer off Quistis by his arm and threw him down brutally next to her…

'Quisty, talk to me…are you ok? Did he hurt you?...talk to me…'Zell kneeled down next to her…

'…yeah, yeah…I'm fine…' Quistis replied putting her arm over her face…

'Zell got up in a jump then, stepped over Quistis and kneeled next to Seifer who was still coughing…

'…what did you do to her, huh?..,' Zell took Seifer by his arms and punched him in the stomach…

'…I SWEAR…YOU ARE DEAD, DUDE!' Zell got up and kicked Seifer in his stomach again, making Seifer curl up on the ground and wince, not having the strength to defend himself…

'ZELL!...Leave him!...Stop it! Stop it!...Zell…!' Quistis grabbed Zell by his waist, trying to keep him from hurting Seifer any worse…

'…what are you doing, Quisty?... He tried to hurt you!...' Zell was pulled away, but resisted, grabbing her by her hand and looking at her in shock…

'…he didn't try anything, Zell!...he was unconscious, he toppled over me!...don't just beat him up like that for nothing!…God!...' Quistis gasped as she kneeled next to Seifer and pulled his arm off his tired face…

'…Geez, I'm sorry…I never knew…I thought he attacked you…'Zell clapped his hand on his forehead, turned around in shame and walked up to the tree where Seifer had been tied up and leaned against it…

'…its Ok…it's not your fault, Zell…I'm sorry…I'm just tired…just glad his alive…' Quistis chuckled slightly in relief…

'It's ok, don't mention it…' Zell smiled forcefully.

'…Seifer are you feeling alright?' Quistis asked him softly, touching his face gently as a worried expression grew on her face.

Seifer's eyes were closed when she removed his arm off his face, but the moment she spoke to him his eyes opened slowly…

He remained silent, staring at all the features of her face, then straight into her eyes for a long time, closing them afterwards very slowly…

'Seifer?...' Quistis unconsciously caressed his bruised face…

'Ahem… I thought we were going to look for Squall and Rinoa…' Zell said a little irritated.

'…yeah…you're right. Just help me with Seifer, he is very weak. I don't think he can walk…' Quistis got up and put her arms under Seifers's arms, pulling his torso up.

'c'mon!...he's heavy…'

'Yeah, whatever…' Zell grabbed Seifer's arm, lifting him up.

The both of them put Seifer's arms over their shoulders and dragged him towards the cabin, where they rested him on the bed.

Ok, I hope you liked this chappie. Thank you so much for reading and please review if you can. Thanks, really. Give me suggestions, I promise to take them into consideration.

Thanks Fred007 and Angelo … and MafGoldenHeart for your wonderful comments!


	16. Chapter 16

**Part 16:**

Zell and Quistis stared at badly hurt Seifer for a few seconds, gasping after carrying him all the way into the cabin.

'…now what?' Zell asked Quistis impatiently.

'…humph… now...C'mon Zell, what do you mean with "now what"!...we're going to restore his health, that's what we're going to do…get him back on his feet!...' Quistis was feeling cocky…

'…awe!...no way!...C'mon…you must be jokin'!' Zell didn't like the idea…

'…no, I'm not joking…now do me a favour and cast Full Cure on him…NOW!' Quistis ordered.

'…Hey!...You wanna bring the bloke back, you do it!...I can't take his guts, why should I _"cure"_ him…!' Zell disagreed.

'Zell, I have no Cure's left, alright? Now, just do it, so we can get over and done with this…we can't just leave him this way, ok? It's not right; he's one of us…' Quistis tried her best to get Zell to do it, being less bossy this time.

'…Ok, ok…there's my masterpiece going down the drain…didn't even get to photograph him, damn it!' Zell mumbled to himself as he opened his hand in Seifer's direction to cast it on him.

'What was that?' Quistis pulled his hand down, before he could cast Full Cure on Seifer…

'…Huh!' Zell frowned awkwardly at her.

'…something about a "masterpiece going down the drain" and "taking a photograph"? Zell what did that mean! '

Quistis was starting to loose it…

'…oh! That!...umm…errr…when I said masterpiece, you see, I meant…err…you know…a…a bet!...Yeah, that's it…I made a bet with a…a…Irvine, that…errr…'

'Zell, stuff it!...If what I'm thinking is right…you are so dead…!' Quistis took Zell by his collar.

'Whoa…whoa! Hey take it easy, Quisty!...It was a joke…a stupid one…_really_!' Zell started revealing the truth…

'…ZELL! How could you! I don't believe this...' she threw Zell down brutally and clapped her hand to her head in disbelief.

'…I'm sorry Quisty!...It was an accident! I mean…ya know…it was just a joke, an innocent one…please…_for-give—me?_'

'…yeah, right…an innocent joke… _that almost killed him_!…If I hadn't showed up, that flipping Unicorn beast would have tore him to bits…and why?...all because Zell decided to tie him up to a tree in one of the worlds most dangerous forests! Nice going Zell!...nice going!' Quistis turned her back to Zell in disapproval.

'…I…I'm sorry…' Zell mumbled a few seconds later, now sitting on the floor next to the bed's foot end.

'…I'm sorry Quistis, will you forgive me…?' Zell asked her softly, afraid of having his eyeballs scratched out of his head…

Quistis sighed as she closed her eyes for a few moments, trying to regain her patience, counting up to ten and breathing out again…

'…fine…' she murmured as she looked at him.

'…Hey don't look at me like that, Quisty!...You know he deserved it, that and much more, I'm tellin' you!...'

'…but still Zell, you didn't have the right to just…' she waved her hand in Seifer's direction as she spoke…

'…why not!'

'…because Zell…Zell shut up and do as I asked…b- before I change my mind!' Quistis put one hand on her hip and pointed in Seifer's direction.

'…yes, ma'am!' Zell jumped up, turned to Seifer, opened his hand and…

'Full Cure!' he cast.

Blue and purple light sprung out of his hand involving Seifer's body magically as most of the cuts and bruises disappeared, leaving only a medium sized wound on his side, which had been from the beast's last attack…

'…that's the best I've got…I'm kind of scarce with HM 's ya know?...' Zell explained.

'…yeah…me too…we haven't been in battles for some time now, huh?' Quistis stared at Seifer…

'…yeah…hopefully we'll have some real one's in Ganahir…' Zell daydreamed as he punched the palm of his hand and grinned.

'...there are thousands of different species there, you know? Lots of new magic to draw…' Quistis daydreamed as well.

'...right… lets get going!...I swear Zell, if we can't find those two, this mission will be so much more complicated than it already is…' Quistis murmured as she took a few steps towards the door as suddenly Seifer opened his eyes slowly and stared at the ceiling.

'It's not like it's your fault, Quisty …they have minds of their own…' Zell followed her to the door.

'…where're you going…?' Seifer mumbled weakly.

'…oh, Seifer…I- I thought you were sleeping…' Quistis turned around the moment he spoke, getting the creeps as she heard his voice.

'…C'mon Quisty lets get goin' we don't exactly have all day, _do we?_' Zell took her arm as she walked towards the door.

'…well we were going to look for Squall and Rinoa, they're missing…we can't start our mission without them…' Quistis's head drooped down.

'…I can't see why…' Seifer replied tonelessly.

'Well I can. In fact, we all can, except for you really. Seifer, Squall is your comrade, we all are. Sooner or later you will know what that means, but in case you don't, I'll tell you: a comrade is friend, and you don't hurt friends the way you two did last night to each other…and if I were you I'd…' Laguna started as he walked in the cabin, looking at Seifer as he spoke, but Seifer didn't allow him to finish.

'…I don't need your lectures, thank you. I have better things to do then to listen to a failed Galbadian Soldier's speech, spare it for someone else who needs it…' Seifer interrupted Laguna as he kept on staring at the ceiling blankly.

'…it's Ok Laguna, it's no use anyway…' Selphie pat Laguna's shoulder friendly.

'…So…what's happening here…?' Irvine asked as sat on the old armchair.

'…we've got to find Squall and Rinoa, they're missing…something might have happened and we're here standing around like fools.' Quistis said anxiously.

'I'm sure Squall is Ok, I'm just kind of worried about Rinoa. She's just a girl, man!' Irvine shared his thoughts.

'Gosh, I hope she made it to Squall...' Selphie gasped.

'Calm down guys! Everything is going to be fine. Seifer get some clothes on, you're coming with us. C'mon guys, we're going to get Squall and Rinoa back!' Laguna tried his best to cheer everyone up again.

'We'll be waiting outside. C'mon guys…' Laguna made his way out of the cabin with the others.

Irvine looked in shock at Seifer's bad state silently and then anxiously at Zell, frowning nervously as Zell made him a "go" gesture, patting Quistis on her shoulder comfortingly. Irvine awkwardly walked out with the others.

'Lets go Quisty' Zell pulled Quistis by her arm as he made his way out, thinking she'd follow him, but she didn't.

'…it's Ok Zell, you go on. I'm coming, let me just stay here a little longer. I need to find some maps, the ones I had were _destroyed_.' She answered as she stared at Seifer who covered his face with his arm.

'…oh, o-ok…' Zell glared at her for a second awkwardly and then made his way out, looking back several times and finally shutting the door.

Seifer then heard Quistis walking away from the bed and opening some draws as she scuffled around in them.

As soon as she had found a map, she got up, and made her way towards the door, but the second her hand touched the door knob…

'Wait...' Seifer groaned.

Quistis froze at the sound of his voice, having all the hairs on the back of her neck stick up.

'Yes?' she tried to sound stable emotion wise, but the truth was that Seifer made her nervous, anxious, scared, angry, hurt…

'Why did you do that?' Seifer's tone softened a bit.

'…do what?' Quistis replied as she approached him thinking it was strange the fact he covered his face with his arm.

'…why did you…you know what I mean…' Seifer pulled his arm off his face and now looked at Quistis in her eyes as he sat up on his bed.

'…you mean save you from that beast?' she asked now stopping and taking a step back.

'…yeah…that's what I mean…after all, you're the one who planed that stupid prank on me, wasn't it…?' Seifer got up slowly and approached her slowly with a frown on his face. He looked kind of funny in his underwear, besides having a great, well-built strong body. But he was starting to scare Quistis, she was regretting not having left with Zell.

'…don't be ridiculous!...' Quistis crossed her arms, trying to mask her nervousness.

'…ridiculous, me?...the only ridiculous one here is you, denying facts, like a coward, besides being a failure.' Seifer smirked.

'…like a coward?...you mean like you?...and as for failure, if you're referring to being a horrible Instructor…don't hope I'll pass you next time, ok? I don't change for my students…specially when it comes to stupid ones…' Quistis chuckled sarcastically as he continued to approach her frighteningly.

'Did I hear right?...Instructor Trepe, calling me a coward and stupid?' Seifer grinned wickedly.

'Yes, that's exactly what you heard…' Quistis turned around and with one hand reached quickly to the door knob.

'Uh-uh…' Seifer grabbed her hand and forced it away from the door as with the other one he locked it with the key, took it out and threw it on the bed, turned his face back at her, now that he was much closer to her and with one hand held her face, forcing her to look at him as he stared into her eyes threateningly…

'…Seifer, let go of me!' Quistis struggled to escape from his hands.

'…admit it…' Seifer's shocking cold blue intimidating eyes were closing in on hers.

'Seifer, I don't know what you're talking about, just let go of me…' Quistis tried to release herself. Besides knowing who the real culprit was, she wasn't going to admit anything. She didn't want Zell to get into trouble any further…

'…are you sure? 'Cause I've got a strong feeling you're the one who has certain issues to straighten out, isn't that so?…'

Quistis started feeling helpless; she didn't want to scream either, so she remained silent, tired of his stupid accusations.

'Awe…the little Instructor decides to remain silent. I guess that means it was you, after all, huh?' Seifer smirked.

This is when a desperate idea occurred in Quistis's frustrated tired mind.

Quistis's eyes shut and her body went limp as if she had fainted, making Seifer panic and grab her by her arms, avoiding her from falling.

Seifer looked at her in surprise for a few seconds, shook her a bit, trying to wake her up.

Seifer just kept quiet, flipped her over his shoulder and rested her in the armchair carefully, sat on the floor next to her and watched her. Quistis pretended to be fainted and tried her best to look really unconscious, not knowing exactly what she would gain with it.

Seifer then blew her hair out of her face. Quistis eyes twitched…

'Humph…you're really bad at pretending!' Seifer smirked as now Quistis opened her eyes quickly and kicked Seifer backwards as she tried to make a quick run towards the door, just that when she reached it, it was locked…

'…need these!' Seifer grinned demonically at her as he wiggled the key in his hand and approached her once again.

'…give me it or I'll scream…' Quistis warned him, now moving backwards, leaning against the door uneasily as he came along.

'…that won't be necessary, will it? All you have to do is asked for it nicely…'

'…give it to me…' Quistis spoke threw her teeth.

'Ok, I will. If it means so much to you, I will…' Seifer leaned against her and now was very close to her, too close actually. But as usual, Quistis's body went all numb again and the only thing she could feel was Seifer's warm breath hovering on top of her.

'…take it…' he whispered in her ear as he held the key in front of her.

Quistis didn't know what was happening to her, her whole body was completely numb and she couldn't control any of her movements; she seemed to be mesmerizing somehow.

'…c'mon…I thought you wanted to leave…' he whispered as a horrible grin grew on his face.

Quistis was trying her best to keep her eyes open and to move her body, but somehow, the warmth of Seifer's body and the sound of his strong voice whispering in her ear had an awful effect on her, paralysing her like some poisonous creature…

Seifer turned his face slowly to look at her.

'Changed your mind?' he glared at her with a grin on his face.

Quistis just looked into his eyes bleakly and helplessly, he held some kind of force over her, forbidding her to react…

'I thought so…' Seifer pressed his face against hers and kissed her slowly, for he knew she was under his control.

Suddenly, a voice sounded:

'Hey Quistis! Everythin' alright in there?' Irvine called for her.

Quistis's eyes opened wide, the silence was broken and she could now feel her body again…

'Urgh!' Quistis kicked Seifer in his private parts while he still held on to her and kissed her, making him part quickly. She grabbed the key from his hand, pushed him backwards as he fell and curled on the floor wincing in pain and finally answered Irvine:

'Yes, I'm coming!'

Quistis then knelled down to Seifer and grabbed his soft spiky blond hair brutally

'…You know what?...I should've let that Unicorn beat the living days out of you ...I don't know what I was thinking to have saved your useless life…and one more thing, if you ever touch me again, I'm going to make sure you die in a lot of pain, do you hear? ' she hissed at him, dropping his head on the floor carelessly, getting up afterwards and leaving the cabin, leaving Seifer alone in pain as he heard the conversation outside…

'Isn't he done yet?' Laguna asked Quistis as she came out.

'Umm…no, actually I think he needs some help…' she chuckled sarcastically, conscious that he was hearing her.

Meanwhile, in the forest…

Rinoa slept with Squall in her arms, both of them leaning against the old log as the fire burnt lively next to them.

Squall's swollen eyes opened slowly, hurting a bit with the intensity of the fire's light. He was facing the sky, but he felt somebody's warm skin against his, so he turned his neck slightly and found himself facing someone's raven dark hair. He instinctively touched it, brushed it away with his fingers and saw the profile of a girl's angelical face…

He remained silent, frowning, feeling awful. How did she get there? Why is she here?

Squall was confused, for he had dreamt he had had a long conversation with Rinoa and that she had forgave him, and now there she was…holding him with so much care.

Squall just sat there a few moments staring at her, not knowing what had happened, what he was going to say, how she would react or what he had to do…

He tried lifting up, feeling a cold metal object touch his skin; he had his griever on.

This made him frown and grab it, looking at it in wonder. He thought he had dropped it in the forest and now it was around his neck like always.

'What's happening?' he thought to himself.

He tried to remove Rinoa's arm from of his shoulder without waking her up…but he failed…

'Hmph…' Rinoa turned her neck to face him as she opened her eyes and found her lover right in front of her…this made her smile.

'…' she smiled at him as he just kept still as a rock, with his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide open.

'…it's Ok…' she whispered at him, smiling sweetly at him afterwards.

'…but…' Squall tried to understand what was happening.

'…just forget it. It's not important. I understand…you don't need to say anything, everything's fine…I just need to know one thing…' Rinoa caressed his face as she spoke to him.

'…what do you need to know?' he asked still, a little puzzled.

'…can you forgive me?' she asked him seriously.

'…forgive what?' Squall chuckled slightly.

'…for what I said last night…I promise you, I had no idea what you were going threw, I was selfish…I know, but I'm sorry, really I am…'she spoke softly in a sad tone of voice as if she were about to cry…

'…don't say that…' Squall gasped softly as he grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him to hug her.

'…I'm sorry…' he gasped softly again…

'…Squall its ok, really… I understand…' she gasped into his shoulder.

'…I don't know what I was thinking…I promised never to leave you and I almost did…I'm so sorry…' he gasped shutting his eyes tightly as he held her very close.

'…Squall it's alright. I mean it. It's not your fault, these things happen… 'she murmured softly as she embraced him tightly as well.

'…I don't care; I shouldn't have put you through that! I'm such a jerk…I'm so sorry!' he gasped still shutting his eyes tightly and holding so very tightly to her, feeling awful.

'…sorry…' he murmured in deep sorrow with a deep voice.

'Squall!' Rinoa parted from the hug and held his face with her hands, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

'…there's nothing to be sorry for. Trust me, I understand. I know what's been going on in your heart…I know you're sore, I know what's making you hurt…' she whispered glaring at him lovingly.

'…' Squall kept silent and his eyes dropped down in sadness along with his head…

'No you don't, it's not what you think it is, Rin…it's more complicated than it seems…' he murmured sadly looking down.

'Squall, it can be simple if you want…sometimes we're the ones who complicate everything, you know?' she murmured back at him, now putting her hands around his face comfortingly.

'I wish, Rin…' he chuckled bleakly.

'It's not hard if you try…' she smiled trying to give him some hope.

'…Rin, it's not all that simple' he gave her a sheepish bleak corner smile.

'I know, I know…but Squall just think about it, ok? Promise you'll think about it? 'she kissed his cheek softly.

'Ok, I will. I promise.' he whispered.

'…are you willing to go back now?' she asked him sweetly.

'…I can't…' Squall murmured sadly as he grabbed his own hair and shut his eyes.

'Why? You're feeling better aren't you? Besides it would make Laguna so happy…' she smiled dreamily.

'Yeah, but…what do you mean with "it would make Laguna so happy"?' Squall frowned a bit puzzled.

'Oops…' she smiled sheepishly.

'…oops?' Squall smiled slightly.

'Squall, I…as I said before…I know what's been on your mind…and when I say this I'm not only referring to Seifer and all that but also to Laguna…Squall, I know Laguna is your fa…' Rinoa tried to explain, but…

'…hold on, hold on…Rin, you're telling me you already know of me and…that he is my…' Squall gaggled nervously.

'Yes…' Rinoa nodded, looking him in the eyes with some sorrow.

'…' Squall's mouth dropped slightly open…

'Ok…ok…now besides wanting me to be his son seventeen years later, he also goes around telling everyone else, before he even tells me…that's fine, just fine…' Squall laid his head back on log carelessly.

'See, Rin…now you know why I can't go back…that's just one more reason for me never to talk to him ever again…now I'm really not going back…' Squall mumbled covering his face with his arm…

'But Squall…!' Rinoa tried to explain…

'…Rin, lets just forget about it…I don't wanna waist one more second thinking about this, the sun is up…I should start making my Journey to Ganahir…and you coming with me…I won't let you go back…not where Seifer is…as long as you're with me you're safe, that's all that matters…' Squall got up and cast ice on the fire, making the fire ice up, grabbed his Gunblade furiously and walked towards the trees…

' …hey!' Rinoa got up and ran after him, yanked him by his arm and forced him to stop…

'Squall, Laguna hasn't told anyone about you being his son, I'm the one who found out…Squall, he would have never told everyone else about this, before he actually told you…He would have never done that…' Rinoa told him, trying to bring him back to his senses.

'…so, you see? It's not all that bad, is it?' Rinoa smiled at him, rubbing his hand gently as she spoke.

'How do you know, then? I never told anyone about it…' Squall mumbled.

'Know what?' Rinoa asked puzzled.

'How do you know that Laguna's m-my father?' Squall looked at her with a puzzled frown.

'…oh…well…to be honest, Squall,…you told me…' she looked at him sheepishly.

'What!...Oh c'mon, Rin!' Squall smiled in disbelief…

'Don't laugh, Squall it's true!...' Rinoa smiled too and spanked him on the arm.

'…oh yeah?...well that I can remember I haven't spoke to you about that yet…I mean I just found it out last night and all…' he giggled looking at her adorably.

'…but you did tell me! I swear you did, just that you don't remember because…'

'No, don't tell me… I don't remember because ('you were sleeping!)I was sleeping?' they both said the last words at the same time…

'Ha!...You're kidding!...' Squall smiled.

'No, no, no! I'm telling the truth!...You spoke to me in your sleep…last night, when I found you here sleeping...it was …so unusual…special…' Rinoa said dreamily remembering his words…

'Are you sure?...'cause I remember dreaming of you, but I can't remember telling you any of that…' Squall concentrated now…

'That's because you were telling me things you held so tightly to, silly…not even in your dreams you'd tell me…or maybe you would, just not so early…'Rinoa explained.

'Oh yeah?' And tell me something, what else did I tell you? 'Cause you know, I'm starting to worry here…' Squall chuckled nervously.

'…oh, nothing much…just that… oh let me see…that I have beautiful hands and…what else let me see… umm…' Rinoa looked at him charmingly touching her hands as she spoke.

'Ok, ok…that's enough…I don't think I wanna hear the rest…just keep it to yourself…' Squall started to blush…

'You know, I think I'm going to start talking more to you while you're sleeping, you are such a darling…!' Rinoa teased him.

'…Hey that's not fair, that's private stuff…' Squall complained playfully.

'…I'm joking, I love you anyhow…sleeping or awake, secrets or no secrets…You'll always be my Squall Leonhart…won't you?' she smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek.

'Whatever…' Squall smiled lovingly at her, grabbing her waist like he always did and kissed her passionately.

When they parted, Squall looked at her weirdly at her…

'I don't get it…I don't usually talk in my sleep…at least I ever used to…' Squall held her next to him as he concentrated on finding an answer…

'…hey, don't worry…I heard once that people usually talk in their sleep when their under great pressure or grief…It must have been this whole situation that caused you to call me in your sleep, maybe also because I started talking to you…' Rinoa said sincerely.

'I suppose…' Squall looked at her in worry…

'I've told you: don't worry, you aren't vulnerable, if that's what bothers you…to the contrary, you are strong…very strong…' Rinoa looked at him caringly.

'Yeah?' Squall asked her a decisively, but charmingly.

'Yeah…' Rinoa murmured reassuringly.

Squall smiled in response, once again, one of the most beautiful smiles she had ever known, the most sincere and warm smile she knew. And yet Squall wasn't in his finest shape, far too thin, underfed, eyes swollen, bloody nose and lips, bruises and cuts all over, untidy hair and torn and dirty clothes, he remained the most hansom man she had ever seen. The only one she truly loved.

After gazing at his lovely smile for a few moments, she kissed his sore lips lovingly with a true smile on her face…

_**To be continued…**_

Ok, part 16. Hope it pleased you, it was slightly larger then the others (huh? Angelo what do you think? Was it too short…? Huh? Huh?). Well, actually I finished this chapter off here because it sounded like a nice ending…Stay toned for part 17!

And please, please review…Have mercy! Thank you so much for reading, just that, brings me great happiness…Thank you so much. Love to all… 


	17. Chapter 17

**Part 17:**

Squall and Rinoa parted from that kiss, sadly of course taking the first few steps into the old forest…

They walked and walked for what seemed like hours as finally the weather started to warm up a bit, which favoured them, but meant encounters with several creatures…

They had killed about the tenth creature, when suddenly a voice sounded in Rinoa's ear, making her stop abruptly…

'Ahem…Squall? Rinoa? Can any of you hear me?...Please if you can say something…we're worried sick about you…please…Do you need help…are you lost? Say something…please…answer…Squall …please if you _can _hear me, just tell me you're ok, please…that's all I ask you…W-we don't have to talk about it. Just come back, please. I didn't want things to go this way. Please understand…don't hate me…please.' Laguna's voice sounded from the little communicator in her ear, but before Laguna could go on; Squall had ripped the thing out of his ear and thrown it on the ground furiously.

'Squall!' she ran after him as he strode into the nearest bushes furiously.

'Squall!' she grabbed him by his waist gently, making him stop…

'I can't believe this…what's wrong with him…? I wish he would just leave me alone…!' Squall groaned furiously…

'Squall I think it's best that I tell him we're ok…I don't think it's right to ignore him…give me a second, ok?…' Rinoa embraced him from the back, rubbing his shoulder comfortingly as she spoke softly…

'…' Squall remained silent, staring blankly with a huge frown…

Rinoa took a few steps away, touched the communicator and finally spoke…

'Laguna? Do you read?...' she called.

'…Oh sweetie, is that you?' Laguna cheered on the other side.

'…yes, it's me, Rinoa…look it's just to tell you everything's fine, I'm with Squall and he's ok…so don't worry about us, ok?' she spoke a little bit softly, due to the sadness in her voice.

'…I'm so glad you're ok!...a-are you lost?...do you need help?...where are you, do you know?…we'll come right away, no matter how far you are, we'll come…we can spot you from the mic if you touch the little green button right…' Laguna spoke cheerfully with hint of nervousness in his voice.

'It's ok, we're fine…we've decided to just go on straight to Ganahir, now that we're here…s-so there's no need to worry, we'll make it, ok?…' she answered.

'Rinoa that's too far! You'll never make it…tell us where you are. We'll get you.

really Laguna its fine…we're ok…we'll call you if we need help I promise, ok? Now don't worry about us…'

'Ok, you win. Tell me something, is Squall err.. is he ok? Can I speak to him?'

'Oh, yes he's just fine…but he can't really speak right now, he's a bit busy…he's umm…finding breakfast!...yeah…and he's going to take some time to come back, so I'll tell him when he comes back, is that ok?'

'Oh…ok…I guess we should go now. Have a safe journey, then. And please if you don't mind, tell Squall I'm sorry, ok? I think he knows what I mean. Goodbye.' Laguna answered back in a sad tone of voice.

'Sure. Have a nice journey yourself as well. Send my love to the others…bye.'

Rinoa turned the little communicator off and stared at the ground for a moment thoughtfully, then made her way back next to Squall who now was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree and eating some black berries from a bush as he stared at void.

'Hmph…I didn't lie after all…' she smiled as she caught sight of him.

'…huh?' Squall looked at her with his purple mouth hanging slightly open.

'Nothing…Everything is fine. They're not worried anymore, but Laguna…he's a little down in the dumps…he is quite worried about you and he asked me to tell you he is very sorry…' Rinoa sat down next to him and slid her arm through his one and leaned her head on his shoulder.

'…Humph!...' Squall offered Rinoa a wild delicious-looking berry.

Rinoa just hung her mouth open and took a bite.

'Hmmm…nice…' she smiled now that she also had a purple stained mouth.

Squall snorted and started giggling…

'Huh?...What's so funny?' she asked a bit puzzled, still chewing on some berries.

Squall just smiled at her adorably and kissed her unexpectedly, making her jerk with surprise as she held his face with both hands and enjoyed that moment…

'…' Squall went silent when they parted, which was kind of odd. You could tell he was thinking of something painful.

'…Squall, I don't want to be a pain, but…don't you think you ought to talk to Laguna…I mean after all he does care about you…you just should have heard his voice, poor thing, he sounded so heart broken…why don't you just talk to him…try and sort things out, huh?' Rinoa laid her head in Squall's lap as she watched him guzzle the berries nervously…

'Squa--hmm…'Rinoa tried to catch his attention, but Squall had playfully dropped a berry in her mouth as she opened her mouth to start talking…This made her giggle…

Squall smiled lovingly at her and kissed her lips smudged with berry juice, silencing her completely with his wonderful kiss…

'But…' she tried to go on as they parted, but…

'Shhh…eat… we won't have much time to stop on this journey…' he murmured, caressing her face as he spoke, smiling with a weird expression on his face. It was a sad, yet a loving smile. She could notice that he was really down, but tried to cover it up by distracting himself from those thoughts and rather playing and smiling at her.

'Yeah…' Rinoa gave up, smiling at him in amusement. He definitely never wanted to talk about it. She let it pass this time, but as soon as she had a chance, she was going to have a serious talk with him, she thought to herself. But she didn't blame him; he wasn't exactly in the best phase of his life. He was going through a tough time and she couldn't help noticing the bleakness and sadness in his eyes.

'…Squall?...' Rinoa murmured softly as she watched his eyes stare into hers as he held her in his lap.

'…Yeah?...' he continued gazing at her.

'…can we talk?' she asked politely touching his face.

'…' Squall frowned, pulled his head backwards and looked up at the sky. He knew what she wanted to talk about, but he didn't want to, it was too painful.

'Rin, I don't want to talk to him…' he sighed tiredly.

'Can you explain why?'

'Yeah I can…he starts appearing in my dreams and makes me go through his stupid life, then he hires me to kill the save the world and comes up with the story that his my father…I mean, he can't just abandon me and seventeen years later come back as my father! …I'm nobody's son, I have no father, no mother and no brothers or sisters…I have no family…!...I'm an orphan since I can remember, the only family I had where at the orphanage…Matron and Sis…I don't want any of that to change…it's who I am…'

'But what if he really is your father?...Do you believe he is?'

'…Rin, I don't know what to think or to believe anymore…I don't understand…It's just that so many weird things happened so far…first stupid dream…' he sighed.

'…and now he appears and tries to approach me and tell that whole load of bull…I can't take it…he can't be my father…'

'…what dream?'

'…that night in Dollet, after being injured, I dreamt I was falling off a cliff…then I heard this woman's voice in my head…telling me that she didn't want to leave me so soon, that she couldn't hold on any longer because she was weak…she lost her grip on life. She told me to hold on, to not let my life slip away from me and to live for the ones I love because there was so much I had to know…. She was always telling me I'd make it, I'd survive…somehow her voice was very familiar to me…which made me think that maybe this woman I heard could have been…'

'your mother…' Rinoa gave him a trusting look.

Squall looked down back at her with a worried frown on his face…

'What happened next, Squall?'

'…I felt strange afterwards…after her voice was gone…I felt…stronger…so I made it up the cliff…but then Laguna showed up…'

'What did he say!' Rinoa was paying lots of attention…

'…"I wasn't there before, but I'm here now…" that's what he said…then he told me I had mother's eyes…'

'Oh…so it's true…' Rinoa's mouth dropped slightly open…

'…then he said …there was so much he had to tell me…and then he was gone' Squall put his hand on his face, feeling very stressed out…

'…Squall, I had no idea you had had that weird dream, it must have been so real…!' Rinoa put her hands around his face…

'…Now everything makes sense Squall, Laguna's your father and your mother… was Raine…it makes perfect sense now…' Rinoa smiled comfortingly at him, removing his hand from his face as she spoke.

'But it can't be, Rin…it can't be this way…'

'It can't?...but why?' Rinoa's smile faded…

'…Rin, I can't accept it…I don't know how to explain this to you, but it's something that has to do with who I am…and I can't change that…Laguna can't expect me to just forget my past…I just hate him for all this...he can't be my father…'

'…but Squall, no one said you have to forget your past to be his son, he's already part of your life, whether you like it or not…Squall, he's your father…now you can spare all this pain if you just make things simple…'

'Simple?...How?' Squall looked at her anxiously.

'…the only thing you have to do, Squall is hear him out…as he told you before, there is so much you have to know…so listen to him, stop hating him, forgive him and accept him as your father…You've been alone all your life, but you aren't anymore. You are Laguna's son…and I can tell that he loves you very much…'

'I don't know…if he loved me…he wouldn't have left me in the first place…' Squall mumbled.

'…Surely he has his reasons…Laguna's a good man, he has a good heart from what I know…Why do you think my mother fell in love with him?' Rinoa smiled reassuringly.

'Yeah… a good silly man that is…' Squall chuckled slightly.

'Don't be harsh on him…' Rinoa giggled.

'…hearing his thoughts make me sick…I can hardly see myself in him…he is so…'

'Ok , ok Squall…that's enough…he's your father, a little respect for him, won't harm anyone…be nice…besides those thoughts you heard were when he was young…remember? He was just a love fool then…'

Squall smiled naughtily at her…

'Yeah, I guess he's changed…' Squall looked down shyly.

'So, you're giving him a chance?' Rinoa smiled putting her arms around his neck…

'I suppose' he sighed giving her a shy corner smile.

In response to that irresistible smile, Rinoa kissed him on his cheek.

'Your mouth is dirty…' she whispered in his ear.

Squall snorted, stretched his neck and…

'So is yours…' he whispered in her ear too.

'How dare you!' Rinoa wiped her mouth quickly. This made Squall laugh his lungs out…

'Stop it…!' she whined as Squall tried to clean her face, still giggling.

'I'm just trying to help here!...' he raised his hands, giving her a mocking look.

'Oh yeah?' she looked suspiciously at him.

Squall nodded with a naughty smile.

Rinoa went on trying to clean her face, licking her lips and sucking her fingers in the process, which made Squall giggle even more…

Rinoa looked at him with a cross look on her face and stopped for a moment.

'Oh, now that you at it: here too, and here…' Squall pointed at his mouth and his fingers…

'Ha ha ha…so very funny…but ok…if you insist…' Rinoa threw herself at his neck, stuck her tong out and threatened to lick his face, Squall holding her by her arms, trying to swerve from her tongue.

'Gotcha!' she licked his cheek.

'Come here!' Squall groaned, grabbing her by her arms and forcing her on his lap, held her face, looked at her and smiled…

'Kiss me…' he smiled from the corner of his mouth.

'Are you sure? Because I don't want to dirty your clean face…' she said ironically.

Squall pulled her closer to himself and silenced her with a loving kiss as she in the beginning struggled to loosen herself from his grip, but ended up giving in slowly to the softness of his lips.

'So, when are actually going to Ganahir!' Selphie started to loose her patience…

'Calm down, Seffie…Laguna is the boss here not me…' Irvine cuddled next to her on the porch…

'I'm tired of waiting and waiting…by now that Sarakman's got the whole world in his hands and we're here…waiting…!' Selphie freaked out.

'I wouldn't say that Seffie, as long as they don't find the Tear Blossom or Rinoa, the world is safe…' Irvine embraced her lovingly.

'I just hope Rinoa and Squall are alright…' she sighed.

'I' sure they're fine…actually they must be on some kind of honeymoon...he he…lucky ones aren't they…?...Squall must be having the time of his life…little squirt!' Irvine chuckled.

'SMACK! Irvine! I'm worried sick about them and you're just having naughty thoughts all the time! What kind of dedicated friend are you?' Selphie whined after giving him a smack on is cheek.

'Chill! I was just joking around!...Ouch…you have hard hands, you know?' Irvine complained.

'Oh…Irvy…I'm sorry, I'm just kind of worried…that's all…Sorry…' she gave him a sweet peck on the cheek.

'I know…as a matter of fact, I'm kind of tired myself…all this waiting is driving me mad…but the best thing to do is chill, ya know?...just chill…everything will be fine…'Irvine smiled and put his arm around her again.

'I think Laguna's trying to contact Squall on his IC before we go…that's if Squall or Rinoa can hear him…I don't think--' Quistis said as she leaned against the poll and crossed her arms impatiently, but before she could finish…

'…Ok, guys lets move on…we're crossing the lake and taking the Ragnarok all the way to Ganahir' Laguna burst out the door and made his way quickly off the platform as he spoke without looking at them. But a few moments later stopped abruptly and turned around slowly in wonder…

Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, Zell and Seifer watched him silently.

'Laguna?' Quistis made a quick run towards him.

'Yes, darling?' Laguna scratched around in his pockets quickly, looking for something desperately.

'…so?' Quistis whispered as her eyes widened as I she was about to say something…

'Hold on…hold on…' Laguna was trying to reach for and object in his inside pocket in his waistcoat…

'Gotcha!' Laguna smiled as he pulled out the bean shaped communicator and stuffed it in his ear joyfully, hoping Squall would eventually contact him.

'Laguna, what's happening?...to Ragnarok? What do you mean?...aren't we going to find them?'

'They're fine…I've spoke to Rinoa and…they're fine…they're heading to Ganahir alone and…we shall meet there…' Laguna faked a smile…

'…wha?...h-how?...they can't…it's too far for goodness sake!...they'll never make it!' Quistis said disapprovingly.

'…Quistis, I tried to tell them but, they have decided to go alone…I can't do anything against that…do not worry, I've told them…if they have any trouble to call us and we'll come, so…I suppose there's nothing to worry about…' Laguna smiled worriedly.

'…' Quistis remained silent in shock…

'Shall we?' Laguna smiled awkwardly and waved towards the river…

'Awe…Laguna!' Selphie moaned…

'C'mon…no whining…we do what we got to do…' Laguna dived into the river splashing everyone wet.

Once the whole gang was in the river, they swam towards the other side…

'The forest gets less dense towards south east, Rin…I think we getting closer to the river…' Squall looked around as he and Rinoa made their way through the forest quickly…

'That's good, right?' Rinoa gasped as she thumped her feet on the ground.

'I can't really tell…I'll tell you when we get there…' Squall smiled tiredly.

'C'mon!...yes or no?...you making me worry here…' Rinoa whined as she grabbed his hand…

'Ah….Just don't think about it…worry when we get there…' Squall pulled her as he hurried up and walked faster through the bushes, desperate to see what awaited them on the other side…

'Ok…' Rinoa started to run as Squall sped up…

This quick run seemed endless, but Squall knew the end of the forest was very near.

'Squall there's light!...' Rinoa yelled as all they could hear was the twigs scrapping by and the thumping of their feet on the dusty ground…

Squall started slowing down…

'It's here…' he murmured now holding tightly to her hand and slowly towards the light that shinned between the branches he walked. And when finally he had cut the last big branch out of the way…

Rinoa's face went pale…

'It's a cliff…' she murmured as she stared at the sea way below as eagles flew around the rocks below, where right on the opposite side of the sea, stood another cliff .

'No…' he mumbled.

'Huh?..."no" what?' she looked at him with awkwardly.

'No, this isn't good…you can worry now…' he murmured.

'…oh, thanks for warning…Squall, are we stuck?' she held on to his arm tightly.

'…' Squall turned around and approached a very wide, old oak tree, with its roots overflowing the surface. Squall stood still as he stared at it…

'What?...' she approached Squall and touched his arm caringly as she stared at him worriedly.

Squall started touching the tree all over as if he looked for something. Finally his hands reached a whole within the old tree as placed his hand inside slowly and met up with a sort of wheel the size of the palm of his hand. He stood there for a second or two, took a deep breath and turned the wheel…

A weird deafening tubular sound sounded from the whole in the tree as Squall removed his hand quickly because of the gush of air that blew from out of it.

The gush of air was so strong, Squall had thrown himself to the other side and grabbed onto Rinoa, afraid that she would fall off the cliff, waiting for it to stop as the tornado like gush of air shot very powerfully to the other side of the sea, reaching the opposite cliff…

'WHAT I S IT!' Rinoa asked Squall barely hearing her own voice, as she sat against the tree with Squall, who held her tightly in his arms.

'YOU'LL SEE!' Squall smiled at her confidently.

Rinoa just gazed at him amazed as he turned his neck and watched the gush of air weaken…

The gush of air started to weaken slowly but surely. When finally it had stopped, Squall had turned his neck back to Rinoa with a loving look in his eyes and with his hand he turned her face gently to look at what seemed a wooden bridge that made its way across the sea and reached the other end on the opposite cliff…

'Squall…! I-It's a bridge! We're not stuck!...but how?' Rinoa's mouth dropped open.

Squall got up and stood in front of the bridge as Rinoa got up quickly and followed him…

'…"and the ancient oak tree shall guide the way over the sea"…'he murmured as he gazed at the beautiful sight.

'…' Rinoa stared at him…

'… Matron used to tell us stories when we were kids…they always ended in some kind of prophecy…never knew the meaning of them until now…' Squall chuckled slightly as he gave her a sweet smile and held her hand comfortingly and stared over the cliff…

Squall looked back at her, gave her a trusting look and took the first step over the bridge…

_**To be continued…**_

**That was part 17, I really hope you liked it…**

**If you have any suggestions, please feel free to make them. Oh, and of course…if you don't mind, please review, because as I said, it means a great deal to me. Well then thanks for reading, thank you so much…**

**Sorry if take long to update, you see, I don't have Internet at home anymore and the only chance I have of updating is when I go out (which is rare) and find a Cyber-Café or use the computers at school which are constantly occupied by little annoying liars that claim priority by saying they have papers to hand in! (IT makes me MAD!)**

**Sorry if you see the story taking too long to end, I'm also kind of concerned about that, but I can't just end it anyhow!**

**Thanks for reading! **


	18. Chapter 18

**Part 18: Just you**

Meanwhile at the cabin's platform…

'Laguna couldn't we have borrowed a boat or something of the kind?' Selphie whined as she stared at him in the water waiting for her to jump in…

'Selphie…don't start…' Irvine mumbled as he stood next to her, sat on the platform and dived into the water, splashing water on her face.

'I hate water!' she cleaned her face.

'C'mon Selphie, you look stupid…you're the only one on the platform! He he!' Zell yelled swimming in her direction.

'Oh yeah?' she yelled back at him.

Zell nodded, smiling mischievously.

Selphie walked back out of everyone's sight, making everyone go silent in wonder.

'What does she think she's doing!' Irvine muttered.

'Dunno' Laguna mumbled staring at the platform.

'She's fooling you all…' Seifer swam away from everyone.

'Selphie , there's no point in throwing a tantrum…this is just part of the mission, c'mon…' Laguna yelled, hoping she was hearing.

Suddenly they heard fast heavy footsteps, coming in their direction.

'Whoo-hoo!' they heard a squeaky voice.

And before anyone could move out of the way, Selphie had already jumped into the air, and made a bomb position in order to when she dropped into the water, she'd splash on everyone…

She had splashed on everyone alright, but she had dived in and was taking some time to come back up to the surface. Too long, in fact. The comrades were getting worried…

'Selphie!' Irvine yelled worriedly, taking his heavy coat off and diving in to look for her.

Irvine had disappeared into the water as well…

'I hope she's ok, man…' Zell gasped.

'I wish you wouldn't provoke her Zell, she always ends up doing something stupid…' Quistis looked at him in a scolding way.

'I was just trying to make her get a move on, that's all…it's not as if I asked her too dive in…' he shrugged his shoulders.

'Fine.' Quistis mumbled.

Irvine had finally made it up the surface in a great splash and now was holding Selphie under her arms. She was unconscious and her head was rolling around as he shook her.

'Selphie, c'mon!' he groaned worriedly now blowing air into her lungs.

Selphie spat water on him and kept her eyes closed. Then without saying anything she started screaming. Irvine's eardrums almost exploded with the squeakiness of her voice, closing his eyes with the pain.

'Selphie…' he murmured, still holding her in his arms.

She opened her eyes and looked at him with a petrified look, then stopped screaming.

'Irvy!' she squeaked, throwing herself at his neck.

'I thought I had lost you!' he whimpered.

'Do I look stupid now?' she asked worriedly, gasping for air.

'No…you look fine. Beautiful like always.' He murmured smiling at her.

'Oh, Irvy…' she chuckled hugging him again, then kissed him repeatedly on his mouth.

'Oh, please!...You're making me sick!' Zell groaned.

Quistis smiled entertained.

'C'mon guys…that's enough…' Laguna chuckled.

Selphie hopped onto Irvine's back and they all started swimming in direction to the other side.

'Errr…Squall…I'm not so sure about this. I'm kind of scared...' she stopped as Squall continued to hold her hand, making him turn around. 'This bridge is far too shaky, one of those planks are about to fall…and I'm scared!' she continued now looking down and pulling him closer to her by his clothes.

'Rin, the only way to get to the other side is by crossing the bridge…we have no other way. C'mon…hold my hand…if you fall I'll catch you…' he smiled at her.

Rinoa looked at him with a petrified face, looking down and then back at him.

'Come here…' Squall took her hand and guided her to stand right in front of him as he held on her hands from behind.

'Squall I didn't tell you this before, but I'm scared, petrified, frightened o-of heights…so if I freak out…' she started talking in a nervous tone as Squall interrupted her:

'You won't freak out…I'm right behind you, now hold my hand and with the other one hold on the rope…' he murmured softly as he place his face next to her ear.

'…ok, now take a deep breath and don't look down, keep your eyes on where you're heading…' he said gently.

Rinoa did as he asked, took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, lifted her head up straight and opened her eyes slowly as she focused on the other side, but frightened as she was, she accidentally looked down…

'Nope, that's not where we're heading…straight forward is where we're going, now keep your eyes on the other side…' Squall smiled.

'Are you sure?' she mumbled.

'As sure as I can be…' he chuckled.

'Ready?...Ok…now one step at a time…I'm right behind you…' he murmured softly as he held her hand and placed his other one on her waist.

Rinoa tried to look forward the whole time as she took the first few steps over the wobbly bridge.

They had almost reached the middle of the bridge when Rinoa stopped abruptly, let go of the rope of the bridge and placed her hand on her face as she started panting slightly…

'Go on…you're doing fine…don't stop...Rin, are you Ok?' Squall murmured at her softly as he felt her stop…

'I just need a small break…that's all…I just had a…a…' Rinoa sounded worried.

'What? Rinoa, are you feeling alright? Hm?' he caressed her hair as he placed his head on her shoulder and looked at her caringly.

'I just saw something…i-in my mind...' she murmured worriedly still covering her face with her hand.

'Are you ok, Rin? W-What did you see?' he touched her face gently as he spoke.

'…I don't know how to explain…it was dark and I only saw shadows… someone torturing someone else…two men… he was screaming in pain…the other one…he was…laughing so loudly it hurt…'

'A vision…you just had a vision…I remember, Matron also used to have visions. She would feel weak afterwards and couldn't even stand…I remember she even used to cry, but she would never tell us what she saw…probably didn't want us to worry…didn't work, though.' Squall stared into the distance as he remembered his days in the orphanage…

'Can you walk?' he asked her caringly.

'Yes, I can. I'm felling better now…let's continue…I don't want to be here any other second…this bridge gives me bad vibes…' she chuckled nervously.

'Take my hand.' Squall murmured.

Rinoa smiled at his request and took a step forward, then another one, breathing deeply to keep calm, for she felt as if she ought to panic.

'Argh!' one of the wooden planks had snapped into various pieces and Rinoa had slipped through the hole, and though Squall had tried to grab her waist, she slipped through and he now held her under her arms…

'Squall!...I thought this wasn't where we were heading!' she cried as he held her under her arms.

'I'm stuck!' she cried.

'Don't panic…I'll get you out of here, just hold on tight to my arms…' he panted.

'Squall it hurts…the plank's got me in my side…I don't think I can move…' she murmured worriedly.

'I'm getting you out…just hold on me as tight as you can, don't let go…all you have to do is do what I say, ok?'

'yes…' she closed her eyes.

'I want you to relax, a tense body will just make things worse. Breath in slowly and tell me when you're ready…'

'Ready?...ready for what?' Rinoa opened her eyes worriedly.

'Just do as I say…trust me.' He murmured, kissing her head lovingly.

'Lean your head back, now don't move….'

Rinoa leaned her head back and found herself face to face with Squall, with his misty dark blue eyes staring into hers caringly.

He stood there, on his haunches, staring into her eyes for a few seconds. A weird moment it was. As if they were communicating without words. Squall then leaned his head down and kissed her lips gently.

Shortly after parting from the kiss he held her even tighter under her arms and started pulling her slowly upwards.

'Urgh…' she moaned as her waist passed trough the hole, for she had been wounded by a splint.

'Almost…' he groaned as he pulled her out and rested her torso on his lap. They stayed like that for a few moments in mid-air on the groggy bridge, breathing hard.

'Let me see that…' Squall placed his hand over Rinoa's (she held tightly onto her side) waist.

'…it hurts…' she moaned.

'…' Squall examined her wound and without saying anything he placed his hand over it, grabbed the small peace of wood which pierced her skin painfully and in a rapid move he removed it quickly, making Rinoa jerk and open her eyes in surprise. He then threw the splint out and gently rubbed her skin.

Squall then took her arm, put it around his neck, picked her up and started making the rest of the way across the bridge.

Rinoa remained silent all the way, she just looked at him in amazement, although she felt very tired, she still had enough energy to gaze at his serious frown.

He held her with almost no effort and just the fact that he was carrying her, made her feel safe and loved, making her want that moment to last forever.

They had finally made it across the bridge. It was a great relief, for the simple idea of hanging in mid-air on something rather old and likely to fall, was scary, they were anxious all the way, expecting a plank would snap at any moment. But thankfully nothing snapped. They had made their way safely over the bridge.

Squall walked up to the nearest trees and placed Rinoa carefully leaning against one.

He then kneeled next to her and embraced her, remaining silent as he just snuggled into her neck comfortingly and kissed her.

'I'm so glad that's over…' she murmured, closing her eyes as she put her arms around him as well.

'Me too…' he murmured back at her.

'Do you think we'll make it?' she looked at him.

''Course we will…' he smiled slightly in a reassuringly way.

Rinoa smiled back and then looked down sadly.

'Hey…' he pulled her face in his direction gently to look at her. 'Don't be scared…everything's gonna be fine. I can assure you…I'm always with you, no matter what happens, ok?' her murmured.

'I know.' She smiled. 'I'm just worried, that's all.' She looked at him.

'Come here.' He embraced her warmly once again.

'I guess we should be going, huh?' she murmured sadly.

'Yeah, time is scarce and we still have some way to go…' he replied staring at the other side of the cliff.

Squall rubbed her shoulder caringly, got up and opened his hand in Rinoa's direction.

'Full Cure!' he healed her as purple and blue lights swirled around her and faded away slowly.

'…thanks' she smiled 'I feel like could take on the world!' she got up in a jump, took a step forward and tripped on a huge root that stuck out of the grassy ground.

'Ops…' Squall caught her in time.

'I can see. Take it easy, though. Most probably you could take on a nice big bed where you could take a very long nap. ' He chuckled with a mischievous smile on his face.

' Ha ha ha…for your information I need no nap. I could go on for many hours, walking, fighting…you name it!' she wrinkled her nose.

'…sleeping…' Squall went on with an entertained grin on his face.

'Shut up! I don't need any sleep, I'm perfectly aware of my capacities. For all we know I'm probably more capable of staying awake longer then you…' she smiled.

'Oh is that so?' he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her closer to him.

She nodded seriously.

'How about being able to resist me…?' he murmured charmingly as his stretched his neck out to kiss her…

'…better than you think…' she whispered smiling as she pressed her fingers against his mouth.

'I know…' he whispered smiling at her.

She looked suspiciously at him.

'…you can't…' he leaned his face against hers with a cute grin, making her give in to his inflammable kiss.

His lips just sort of magnetically attracted hers, resulting in the most wonderful kiss imaginable. Squall's touch just made her weak in her knees, making her want to just cling onto him forever.

'Maybe I'm not so immune to that…but I am capable of many, many things, you know? I just hadn't had an opportunity to show it to you…' she looked at him seriously.

'You don't have to, I know very well what you're capable of…and I love you for that and much more…I know you're strong…there's no doubt about that, but I also don't want you to have a hard time for no reason…I care about you and the last thing I want is for you too suffer…' he murmured seriously.

'Who said I'm suffering!...I'm with you, that's the only thing that matters to me, as long as I have that, I'm happy. I don't need anything else, just you…so no one can ever say I'm suffering.' She smiled lovingly at him.

'…' Squall just stared at her with a serious face.

He knew deep inside she did suffer, but if she didn't want to talk about, he couldn't force her. He knew how hard it was to talk about things that hurt you and just that was a good enough reason to not insist. He felt that she had too many worries, that she was having a hard time with all this sorceress thing, for she was going through many different fazes, having visions and probably other effects that she wouldn't dare to tell. He knew she wasn't feeling too well, that she suffered deep down with many worries and doubts. Squall just felt that it was his duty to support her with anything that would come up and that he had to protect her with all his might. He wasn't going to let anyone touch her, he was going to fight until he was absolutely sure she was safe. That's all he wanted.

After a long moment of just staring at her, he embraced her silently and closed his eyes, enjoying her sweet scent, the soft touch of her hair, the silkiness of her skin and every breath of hers as if it were the last time.

She too remained silent. She seemed to know what went through his mind and his heart. She could sense that he too, was scared.

'The Ragnarok…' Laguna muttered to himself in amazement to its greatness.

The spaceship stood there, so great and beautiful, its colour took your breath away.

'What are we waiting for! C'mon, move…' Quistis smiled at Selphie and Laguna staring at the ship with a dreamy look on their faces.

'Beautiful, isn't she?' Selphie said rhetorically to Laguna who stood beside her.

'Yeah, just one thing, _he's_ beautiful. It's a _he_, k?' Laguna said informatively.

'Who says!' Selphie looked at him disapprovingly.

'Says I…' he smiled.

'It's a she, what are you thinking?' she squeaked.

'No, it's a _he_…' Laguna said calmly.

'How dare you!' she looked at him in disbelief.

'I'm telling you Selph, it's a guy ship!' he moaned.

'No, it's a girl ship! That's final!' she answered back.

'Uh uh…it's a guy…' he whispered provocatively.

'It can't be!...It's a she…it's a girl. Ragnarok is a girl's name, if it were a boy he'd sound queer!' she squeaked.

'Selphie! Laguna! Come here immediately! You're wasting our time! C'mon, in you go!' Quistis stood on the staircase waiting for them.

'Girl!' she said coolly.

'Guy…' he said carelessly…

'Girl!' she squeaked.

'C'MON!' Quistis started loosing her patience, grunting her teeth.

'Girl! Selphie said as she ran towards the entrance of the ship.

'No way…!' Laguna said running after her.

Selphie sat in the pilot's seat and started the engine.

'She's such a beauty, starts like a champion…a champion-ess that is!' she said loudly for Laguna to hear.

'He…' Laguna moaned irritably.

'Laguna act your age! The same goes for you Selphie!' Quistis ordered, sitting down in a chair.

'But she's treating the ship like some kind of Drag-Queen!' he mumbled.

'No, sorry about that, but _you_ are…' Selphie went on.

'Whatever…' Laguna groaned. And to this Quistis looked at him. He had sounded just like Squall that moment, voice and all. Maybe it was her imagination, she thought.

'Fine.' Selphie chuckled.

'I got my way!' she whispered, winking her eye at Irvine who sat next to her.

The ship rose slowly into the air and a few moments later the ship had started making its way North-West.

Squall and Rinoa started walking through the country plains where the grounds seemed to become drier and drier as they went. The trees started disappearing and the ground was looking dustier, where the only thing in sight were dry bushes and weeds. Not one animal in sight. After a long while of walking, they had amazingly walked into three creatures: a weird looking desert tiger and two big reptile-looking blue eagles.

'Rin, draw as much as you can!' Squall said as he cast blizzaga on the Tiger.

Rinoa did as he asked, drawing 10 Cures from the one of the big birds.

Squall then drew his Gunblade and sliced the blue bird, making it fall n the ground in a loud thump.

Rinoa then drew 5 Bios from the tiger and Squall moved in and decided to let Shiva stretch her legs.

'Diamond Dust!' he called as he pulled his hand out and huge pillar of ice grew in front of him having Shiva as graceful as ever, brake out of it, sending her ray of ice to the creatures, as a path of ice made its way towards them, froze them and broke them into a million pieces.

'It's been a while…' he muttered smiling at Rinoa after the encounter.

'Yeah, I know…' Rinoa smiled at him.

They went on walking into the infinite horizon, seeing only more desert land as they travelled.

'What's that?' Rinoa stopped and stared into the distance.

'What?' Squall stopped as well.

'It was…right there…' she pointed.

Squall moved closer to her and stared into the distance as well.

'It's another forest…' he muttered.

'I know, but…behind it…there was a green light…now it's gone.' She looked puzzled.

'A green light…are you sure?' he stared into the distance.

'Yeah…it was shinning between the trees…what do you think it was?' she looked at him.

'I don't know. Something must be going on there…' he said.

'I have a bad feeling about this…maybe we should go and look. Someone may be in trouble. Don't you think?' Rinoa looked at the forest then back at him.

Squall without saying stared again at it.

'There goes another one…' he spotted the light again.

'C'mon…' he took her hand and ran in the forest's direction.

When they reached the first trees, they had equipped themselves with GF's.

'I'll take Quezelcolt and Ifrit, you take Shiva, Brothers and Siren.' Squall said as he drew his Gunblade and walked in to the forest.

'Stay right next to me' he muttered to her as he reached his hand out to hold her arm.

They were approaching the heart of the forest, when they heard the bushes rustling in front of them.

'Stay here…' he let go of her arm and approached the bushes.

He heard the noise again and he approached them silently.

Then as he made a quick run to whatever was moving he entered a kind of naked spot of trees, where three men turned around quickly. They looked exactly like the ones that had appeared in Dollet. Dressed in black cloaks with hoods on their heads.

'That's him!' said one of the guys.

'Where is she!' said one of the guys viciously as he pointed his arrow at Squall.

Squall kept silent as he remained in his fighting position and just stared at them.

'Where is the sorceress!' insisted the other one.

'You'll have to get passed me first…' Squall groaned.

'Get him!' said one of them.

The other two ran up to Squall, one pointing an arrow and the other one sharpening his two swords with a greedy grin on his face.

Squall then stepped in and grazed the guy with the bow and arrow, making the guys fall on the ground on his knees and screech of pain.

'Get up you fool! Kill him!' said the boss.

'Boss, it burns!...I-It's the sacred blade, master!...'said the injured one.

'I'll kill him, boss!' said the one with blades, jumping in Squall direction and grazing his arm.

'The sacred blade, eh? …I think master will be pleased to hear that…' said the boss, making a weird gesture with his hand.

'Go look for the sorceress, Iratk.' He said. And the guy with the blades flew into the bushes so quickly, Squall tried to attack him, but he had already disappeared.

'Rinoa run!' Squall ran after the guy and searched for Rinoa all over the place.

'Argh! Squall!' he heard Rinoa scream far away, turning around to where he heard it come from.

'Urgh!' Squall was kicked in his back, dropping unconsciously on the muddy ground. The last thing he heard was the piercing sound of his Gunblade dropping on the ground. The pain in his back was so intense, the moment he felt himself falling, he just went unconscious.

**Part 18! How about that? Did you like it? Hope you enjoyed that…boy, I had fun writing that! **

**Please review! Oh, Rebellious Princess! Thank you so much for your wonderful comments. The same goes for you Angelo. It means a great deal to me, really it does. I put my heart into this fic and the fact is that I can't get sick of writing it. I know it's taking a while to end, but the fact is that I don't really want it to end. Anyway, I know my duty is to give it a dignifying ending and that's what I'll do. Thanks for you support GoldenHeart! Thanks everyone.**

**Thank you for reading, thank you so much! Any suggestions, just e-mail me. Please review!**

**PS: Rebellious Princess, I've put titles on the chapters, do you like them? Thank you for your suggestion, I agree 100 with you, I just was too lazy to do it! **


	19. Chapter 19

**Part 19: **

'Argh!' Rinoa had shot her Projectile's blade in the hooded man's leg that had attacked Squall from behind, forcing him to collapse and disappear.

Rinoa then went up to Squall in a quick run and turned him around, laying him on his back and as she heard footsteps coming in their direction, she quickly put her arms around Squall and instinctively closed her eyes and made Squall herself invisible.

'It's no use Irakt, they're gone, just like last time…lets go…' one of the hooded guys appeared from behind a tree, then the other one.

'No…' said the other one stopping abruptly.

Rinoa's heart started racing, becoming invisible made everything around her become a pale blue and the sight of those two horrible men who had the intention to kill her or whatever it was that they wanted made her shiver.

'C'mon, they're gone…there's nothing here, let's just go…master's gonna kill us…the second time we catch them and we let them escape again. We should go, boss has already Teleported back to the base…I don't think he wants us to take long…'

'Shut up! They're here…' groaned the other one from under his hood.

'Ha! That's a good one…c'mon, seriously, let's go…'

'I can feel it…I can feel their muscles strain, I can feel their breaths heaving out of fright, I can smell the fear in them…' groaned Irakt, curving his back and taking small steps once at a time, sniffing furiously.

He was approaching Rinoa and Squall, slowly but surely, but she couldn't move away. Squall was unconscious and she couldn't make him move, it would make too much noise.

'It's no use…they're gone. They can't be here anymore. Who'd be dumb enough to stay here anyways?' said the other one.

Suddenly Irakt stepped on a dry branch and snapped it, making a loud noise in the silence of the forest and out of nowhere a deer had jumped out from behind some bushes, stumbled and hopped out of the way in a frightened run.

'I see…now you've become an animal detector…huh! C'mon, let's not waste time…' gaggled the other one walking away impatiently.

'You fool…' groaned the other one, walking away slowly and looking back a last time as if he had been sure someone was there.

Rinoa's heart loosened up, she was so relieved. But then again she felt scared. Was Squall going to be alright? The man had kicked him in his back so hard, she was frightened for Squall. Would he be able to walk? He was already so thin and underfed that she had not the slightest idea what to do.

Rinoa sat there thinking on what was the best thing to do, stroking Squall's forehead, cleaning his dirty face and holding his hand. She was thinking of calling Laguna for help, but then Squall would be so mad with her if she did, she really didn't want that, but then she thought twice. Squall wasn't well, she had to face it and so did he, if she could get Laguna to come there and get them, maybe Squall could recuperate quickly without putting his health in danger. She decided to call Laguna, after all, the most important thing to her was that Squall was ok even if he was mad at her or not… just as long as he was ok. Sooner or later he would have to face Laguna, he just had to loose his pride.

'Laguna? Can you hear me?' she touched the button of the little communicator inside her ear.

'Yes? It's Quistis.' Quistis answered back.

'Oh, hi there Quistis, listen could please, please call Laguna for me?' Rinoa sounded distressed.

'Rinoa is everything alright? What's going on?' Quistis started to worry.

'Oh, Quistis!... I don't know what to do…I'm scared…' Rinoa's tone changed.

'Rinoa, if you just tell me what's going on, maybe I can help you…'

'Squall is hurt…he's unconscious…I need you to come and fetch us. Quick.' Rinoa straightened her voice and tried to sound stable.

'What! Squall's unconscious! How…how? Where are you? We'll be there right away…'

'I don't know where I am, but I think this green button on the communicator can trace us, can it not?' Rinoa pushed a green small button on the communicator.

'Yes, that's right. Thanks. You're somewhere in the northern Tryjion plains. Just stay where you are, we're close by, in about ten or fifteen minutes we'll be there. Hang on, ok? Are you alright, Rinoa?'

'Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be here. Please hurry.' Rinoa's voice sounded stressed.

'We'll do our best. See you now.' Quistis said confidently.

'Selphie, quickly, turn around and head to north of the Tryjion plains. We're getting Rinoa and Squall.' Quistis stated.

'Righty-o!' Selphie said cheerfully.

'What's happening, Quisty?' Irvine asked.

'I don't know. Something happened to Squall and Rinoa seemed quite worried…I don't know what to think…' Quistis sat down slowly as Selphie turned the ship around, making everyone stumble.

Seifer remained silent to this, grinning with glee.

'Yo, Irv! How far are we from there?' Zell got back to his feet after stumbling.

''bout 37 k's…' Irvine chuckled as he watched Selphie grinning with that usual joy when she made the turn arounds.

'Not very far, we're almost there. Just a few more minutes…' Quistis said absentmindedly as she thought of Squall. Yes, she was worried about Rinoa too, but Squall…she still felt something special about him and she worried a lot about him, especially when he had the problems he had. She knew that Squall wasn't the type to talk about his problems to anyone and probably would never dare to talk to her, but she couldn't help feeling like helping him. She really cared about him even after all they went through. And why wouldn't she worry? After all they were comrades and she usually worried about all of them, it was quite normal, she thought to herself as a bothered frown grew upon her face.

Suddenly Laguna came up the elevator, zipping his fly with some difficulty as he sat down on one of the couches.

'What's up?' he said cheerfully, smiling as if going to bathroom had been a real relief.

'We're getting Rinoa and Squall…' Quistis explained.

'What?' Laguna jerked his head in Quistis's direction.

'Yes, something happened there and Rinoa called us asking us to come get them.' Quistis looked down.

'S-something happened? What happened!' suddenly the joy in Laguna's voice had disappeared.

'I'm not sure, she just mentioned that Squall was unconscious…'

'And they call him a SeeD…' smirked Seifer softly.

Zell pulled a threatening face at Seifer, staring into his eyes and hitting his fist in his hand furiously.

'Man, I had no idea…' Laguna said worriedly under his breath.

'They're coming…you'll be fine…' Rinoa looked at him lovingly as she caressed his strong hands.

She scoured the sky for signs of the great ship, but the minutes seemed like hours and nothing was appearing. In bleakness she looked down at Squall, feeling helpless, not knowing what to do. On top of this all, she had a bad feeling about having called the others to come and help her. She just knew that she had to be strong and do what she thought was right and that's exactly what she did, for Squall's own good.

'Please don't be mad at me, please' she whispered stroking his cold face.

Suddenly out from the silence of the forest she heard an overwhelming sound, like some sort of powerful engine. She looked up at the sky and saw the Ragnarok shinning gracefully above, reflecting the light of the afternoon sun…

Rinoa looked up at the sky, straining her eyes to make sure it was the ship and smiled with relief…

Once she heard the ship settling down, she looked around anxiously for her comrades.

A few moments later, she heard Laguna, Irvine and Zell's voices, appear instants later.

'Laguna!' she cried out happily.

'Help me out here, guys…' Laguna took Squall by his arm and then held him under his arms with some effort as Squall's head dropped down and his hair waved around his face.

Irvine took Squall's left arm and hung it over his neck as Laguna did the same to the other one.

And so they carried Squall all the way to the Ragnarok through the woods until the plains, Squall's head moving around limply and his feet dragging on the floor as Rinoa walked behind with Zell who rubbed her shoulders compensatively.

Quistis came down the stairs of the ship for she couldn't wait any longer, seeing Squall in his weakest state ever, his pants barely slipping of his waist and his waistcoat all torn and stained with blood and mud.

Rinoa also looked quite weak, she looked healthier than Squall but still had a fair amount of scratches on her skin and her clothes were in a similar condition to Squall's. Quistis's heart started aching with sorrow for them both. This was a hard time, not only for herself, Zell, Laguna, Selphie and Irvine, but mostly for Squall and Rinoa. They seemed to not care about anything except for one another. And though they were the ones who faced more troubles and had more problems on their back, they seemed to go on sticking together like nothing she had ever seen. And as much as it cost admitting it, Quistis knew on that moment that their love was unbreakable, that they were meant to be, to fight alongside each other and belong to each other forever.

Seifer on the other hand, probably was insensitive to all of this, he just couldn't care less about what was going on, he probably just kept on with this mission because he felt like spilling some blood to feel powerful or just to provoke her and cause trouble…He had no worries, no friends and no feelings…How and why, she never knew and didn't want to know. She hated him for everything he had said and done t o her, but couldn't help feeling weird about him; As though he had something to hide, as though someone else hid behind that disrespectful, careless, insensitive and cruel monster. She had suspected of this due to his weird unpredictable behaviour. But now wasn't the time to think about him…

Once Laguna and Irvine had carried Squall into the space ship, Selphie had locked the door and took off, while Irvine and Laguna placed Squall carefully in the meeting room, on one of the couches resting, where Rinoa took care of him, cleaning his wounds and "kept him company". As soon as she had taken care of her own wounds and scratches, she had left Squall in the meeting room, climbed the elevator platform and entered the control room.

'Hey Rinny! You ok?' Selphie turned around and smiled at her.

'Hi Selphie. I'm ok, yeah.' She answered timidly.

'Err…Rinoa. Could we have a word or two?' Laguna murmured, gently touching her arm friendly.

'Sure.' Rinoa smiled faintly.

Laguna guided her to the meeting room, where Squall rested.

'Sit down…' he asked her as he sat down as well.

Laguna looked at her worriedly for a moment, staring at her with concern and thinking of a way to start…

'It's Ok; you don't have to choose your words…' Rinoa smiled weakly.

Laguna smiled back in relief and sighed.

'Rinoa, I need to get to the point. Tell me, what happened out there?'

Rinoa looked down with grief, then raised her head slowly and looked at Laguna with the most uneasy expression.

'I can hardly explain myself…' she murmured.

'It's ok; just tell me what you saw…who did this…take your time.' Laguna said comfortingly.

'We were walking in the plains, when I saw this bright green light shinning through the trees into the sky, so we approached the forest, to see what was happening…something could be happening…someone could be in trouble…so we went…' she explained.

'Go on…'

'When we arrived at the forest, we heard footsteps, bushes rustling all over us as if we were being circled without seeing them, so Squall told me to wait, while he went searching where the noise came from…but I didn't listen, I followed him and peeped out of the bushes, just to make sure he was ok…but then he bumped in to some three men…and they attacked him. Then when one of them said they were going to get me, Squall ran after him and told me to run, but they didn't find me…Then silently I went to look for Squall to tell him I was ok, just that when I reached him a guy had already attacked Squall from the back…So I attacked him back and he disappeared into thin air…. They were the same ones that had appeared in Dollet, the night we went for a walk…' Rinoa gazed out of the window.

'You mean these guys had bothered you before?'

'Yes. And I heard them say something about getting me. They know I'm a sorceress, Laguna.' Rinoa looked at him anxiously.

'That's odd…This Sarakman dude seems to be well informed…first the Tear Blossom which very little people knew of, then you. Something's going on here.' Laguna rubbed his chin.

'No one's supposed to know yet, it's too early. Nobody knew except for us, right?…and now these guys are looking for me, wanting to kill me, take my powers…whatever it is and everywhere I go, they follow me, hurting the ones I care for in the process. I want it to stop; I can't take this anymore, Laguna. I can't allow this.' She murmured sadly.

'It's not your fault…you can't help it. The only thing we can do is stick together and fight, isn't that right? That's what we doing…and I'm sure Squall will be fine. He's tough, he can take on a lot. He's a SeeD, one of the best. He needs much more than a kick from the back to get him down.' Laguna smiled confidently.

'He's not well, Laguna.' Rinoa murmured worriedly.

Laguna kept silent.

'He is not just weak now, his down, he has a lot on his mind. He's confused, worried, hurt…he's having a hard time. And as much as I try to keep him sober, he keeps on falling into his painful thoughts, remembering his uneasy past and holding onto it as if he has nothing else…he feels like it's his identity and he won't let go of it…but I'm not giving up, I want him to understand that he can be happy if he wants. I just have to get through to him…he'll understand one day.' Rinoa said hopefully.

'It's my fault.' Laguna murmured looking at her bleakly.

'It's my fault he won't let go of his past. It's my fault he ever went through a tough time, my fault he won't even look at me... ' Laguna chuckled in a stupefied way.

'Past is past, Laguna. You had your reasons, you were young. You wanted to save Ellone. She meant a lot to you, she was like a daughter to you, right? You did what you thought you had to…and things just happened to go differently as expected…no one's perfect, Laguna. He has to understand.' Rinoa looked at him comfortingly.

Laguna smiled, but then his expression changed into a frightened, surprised look, his eyes widened and he looked at her in shock.

'Laguna, are you alright?' Rinoa touched his arm.

'Y-You know?' he asked puzzled.

Rinoa looked at him for a few seconds, then smiled in amusement.

'Know what?' she played with him.

'You know…' he mumbled still looking at her.

Rinoa kept on smiling.

'You know…you know I'm Squall's…father?' he gulped.

Rinoa nodded.

'He told you!' Laguna's eyes widened in surprise.

'Why wouldn't he?' she asked curiously.

'I dunno…it's just not him to go telling anyone about his personal stuff, no offence, but you know, he's the quiet type, no?' Laguna scratched his head.

'Ah…well he didn't really tell me…. I'm the one who found out, really…' Rinoa confessed.

'But if he didn't tell you, who did…I didn't…unless, Kiros did, no, he wouldn't…and Ward…I don't think he would pretend he couldn't speak, unless he really though it was funny, no…he wouldn't …he couldn't… did he?' Laguna thought out loud then looked angrily at Rinoa.

'No…' Rinoa chuckled shaking her head.

'No? then how?...' he said suspiciously.

'Oh, that's not important…' Rinoa remembered how Squall felt vulnerable, cooncious that he had spoken in his sleep.

'Hm…you're hiding something, aren't you?' Laguna twitched his eye.

'Yeah, kind of…but it's not what you're thinking. I didn't listen to anyone's conversation or anything… I just had a special moment and on that moment I found out for myself…that's all.' She smiled truthfully.

'I see…a special moment, eh? You excused…' Laguna smiled.

'Laguna, I think you two should talk, seriously.' Rinoa sounded concerned.

Laguna's smile faded as he looked down bleakly.

'I want to. And I've tried, but he keeps trying to avoid me…he hates me, Rinoa. He'll never except me, what I did was awful and I understand if he can't forgive me…I'll never be a good enough father. It's too late.' Laguna murmured tonelessly.

'It's never late! You can't give up so easily! He's your son! Your blood…your only son, Laguna. Think about it, you can't let him get away. And no, he doesn't hate you. I know he doesn't he's just not easy with this whole new concept of family, you know? I think you guys should get to know each other well before anything else, don't you think?'

Laguna looked at her for a few seconds thoughtfully and then smiled thankfully.

Laguna took her hand.

'You are so much like your mother, Rinoa and I am so glad Squall has someone like you by his side. He must love you very much…Thank you for everything Rinoa. You are a wonderful girl. Really, thank you…and you know what? You are right, he's my son and I can't give up on him. He's my blood and I'm gonna fight to win him back.' Laguna smiled delightedly.

'That's great Laguna. You'll see, things will come your way, Squall is tough but he has a heart too. Sometimes is hard getting through to him, but if you persistent and show him it's worth it, he'll sooner or later give in to you. It wasn't easy getting him to show his feelings more often, you know?' Rinoa smiled sweetly.

Laguna smiled back.

Suddenly the electrical door slid open and Quistis came in.

'Laguna, can you come to the control room for a second?' Quistis asked politely.

'I'll be up in a sec.' Laguna looked at Quistis.

Quistis nodded and went out silently.

Laguna got up, looked at Rinoa with a kind smile on his face, then as he made his way out he rubbed her shoulder in a friendly way.

'You take care of him' Laguna smiled as he walked out.

'I will' Rinoa murmured looking over to Squall as the door shut.

Rinoa got up slowly and walked over to the couch where Squall rested.

He was lying on his back, with his arm hanging off the couch as his mouth hung slightly open and he took deep relaxed breaths. It was the first time Squall looked so relaxed in his sleep.

'So this is you when you're relaxed…' she murmured smiling at the pleasant sight.

Rinoa took his arm and placed over his chest and sat next to him on the couch. She gazed at him with love. Admiring his face and stroking it as she thought of Laguna's conversation.

She spent some time there, just caressing his skin and kissing him sweetly. She was hungry and tired but wouldn't leave him until he woke up. She didn't want him to get a fright as he woke up. She wanted to explain herself before he got mad at her.

Suddenly Rinoa heard the door slide open once again. She turned her neck around.

'Rinoa? You still here? Are you ok?' Zell walked in.

'Yes, I'm fine…I want to be here when he wakes…that's all.'

'Why don't you come up a little, we're having a card game. Me winning! Hey, do you have any cards?'

'No, I don't really like playing cards…you see I've never learned.' She smiled sheepishly.

'How can you say you don't like something if you've never tried it out before?...C'mon, I'll teach you!'

'Thanks Zell, but I don't think it's a good idea to leave Squall here…'

'It'll be fun! C'mon how many times on this mission can you have fun?'

'Not many but…' Rinoa tried to find excuses.

'No buts! C'mon…you're coming with me!' Zell took her arm and dragged her out of the room.

'Zell no! Let go of me…' Rinoa giggled.

'We've got snacks too, you know? We were starving here like fools and only now Xu tells us we've got a room stuffed with food, huh! They've got a nerve, eh?' Zell talked cheerfully as he leaded Rinoa out of the Meeting Room and up the Control Room.

'About time, girl! Thought you'd never get out of there…' Irvine chuckled as he past by her and put his arm around her shoulder comfortingly.

'Come to join us in a friendly game, are you?' Irvine asked her.

Seifer looked up and then went on shinning his Gunblade.

'Err…well…not really. I'm not really into that sort of…'

''Course she is!' Zell yelled sitting on the couch in a relaxed posture.

'Oh really?' Irvine said surprised at this.

'Don't pay attention…' Quistis told her.

'Sit down, sit down…c'mon lets start. Get your cards ready…' Irvine leaded Rinoa to the couch and sat down next to her as he yanked his own cards from his coat.

'Rinoa, you be careful. The last time I played a game with does two creeps, they took advantage of my ignorance… they rip you off, if you don't watch out! It's a warning…' Selphie turned around in her pilot seat and gave Irvine and Zell a dirty look as she spoke.

'I wouldn't be surprised…I haven't got the slightest clue on how to play this game…I don't even have cards to start with!' Rinoa chuckled.

'Here take mine…Squall gave these to me. Maybe they'll bring you luck!' Zell smiled.

'Ok…' Rinoa took a look at each card.

'Just one thing, Zell…before anything else, pass over that soda…' Rinoa smiled mischievously

'Quisty, darling, sweet-pea, honey-bunch, sweat-heart…get me some of does delicious knick-knacks please!' Zell asked politely giving Quistis a cute irresistible smile.

Quistis gave Zell a bitter look, put her book down, grabbed a packet of chips which laid on a pile of more and more packets and threw it at him impatiently.

Zell caught it and blew her a kiss.

Quistis held the book up higher.

'Ok, we've got everything we need, chips, cards, two card robbers and a victim…let's get started, baby!' Zell jumped in his seat in thrill.

'We'll see about that…' Rinoa gave them a dangerous look.

Zell and Irvine remained silent for a few seconds…

'Ok, let's start…' Zell said nervously.

'Where's your head! The cards are placed one here and one here, not on top of each other!' Irvine yelled at Zell disapprovingly, sorting them out properly.

'Course they are!' Zell placed them the other way.

Rinoa opened the chip package and started eating them…

'No they're not!' Irvine smacked the cards off the table.

'Shut up!' yelled Zell.

'No, you shut up! 'Irvine yelled back

Suddenly without saying a word, Rinoa grabbed two hands fool of chips and stuffed their mouths full, making them jerk unexpectedly.

'And as they say: stuff it!' Rinoa chuckled.

Irvine and Zell chewed silently with their mouth all stained yellow.

Quistis giggled softly as she watched the two of them from behind her book.

Rinoa, Irvine and Zell had finally reached an agreement. They decided to take turns. The only thing that didn't click was the fact that Rinoa was always winning. And by the time she almost had all their cards, they had given up.

They spent the afternoon sitting on the couch, talking and eating, laughing and choking on their food.

The ambient was fun and peaceful, only Seifer had frown on his face as he sat on a couch far away from them and leaned his head back on the seat as he stared at the ceiling, throwing some nasty comments sometimes.

'_That's right Squall, it's what you heard…I'm a serpent of Sarakman…the honourable position of his right hand…the royal mercenary whose gonna rip your head off…' Seifer's grin was crueller than ever as he approached unarmed Squall with a gigantic sword, cornering him with the sword and cliff…_

'_Blood on rocks or blood on sword? What do you prefer? It's not everyone who has the privilege of choosing? Is it?'Seifer smirked._

'_Confused are we?' _

'_I recommend the sword…quick and painless, in a blink of an eye, your head would be down there... What do you say? Hm?'_

_Squall tried to avoid the blade that stood inches from his chest, but in the process his foot reached the end of the cliff and now had very little space left. He was going to die, he knew it…_

'_Rinoa…' he thought of her for the last time. But then he made a decision, he would rather die painfully on the rocks then have his blood spilled on the sword of his greatest enemy._

_Squall closed his eyes with some effort as he felt the wind blow more intensely on his back in the opposite direction of the rocks. Squall dropped backwards hoping he would feel gravity pulling for him, but the wind was strong and seemed to want him to stay there. In wonder to what was happening he opened his eyes and as blurry as they were, he could see Seifer wasn't in front of him anymore, he focused…_

_It was a girl shorter than himself, revealing to have raven Dark hair and beetle dark loving eyes staring into his._

'_Talk to him, Squall. Go, he's waiting…' Rinoa smiled as she pushed him backwards gently._

_And before Squall knew it, that gentle push had been enough for him to fall off the cliff, he was now really falling, and there was no wind to push him in the opposite direction._

'_Argh!' Squall yelled as he felt his body give in to gravity._

'_Forgive him, he cares about you…' Rinoa smiled looking down at Squall as he fell down in slow motion._

_He shut his eyes in fear as he could already imagine the rocks pierce through his flesh and kill him slowly._

Clump! Squall fell on a hard surface, but couldn't feel anything piece through him. It was a little painful, but not enough to kill him slowly. Confused, he opened his eyes…

Squall was laying on the carpeted floor of a darkened room, surrounded by red seats, this place was familiar, but it didn't strike him at first.

'Where was I last?...' he closed his eyes trying to figure out what had happened to him.

'The cliff…no! That was a dream…er…think! Think!...Rinoa!...' he remembered her frightened scream and abruptly lifted up with the intent to find her.

'Urgh!' he rolled on the floor as he felt his back ache painfully.

'Urgh…' he moaned softly as he closed his eyes and his eyes tiered with pain…

He remained in that position, concentrating on sending the awful pain away…

A few moments later he rolled onto his stomach and with his arms he lifted himself up slowly, wincing slightly. Then when he was on his knees, he tried sitting up straight on his knees…

'Urgh!' his back would hurt, curving in as he felt the intense pain…

Squall then supporting himself on the couch he had fallen off, he lifted up slowly curving his back to avoid the pain and when he had finally got up to his feet, he felt his kneed shake. He knew then he was weaker than he expected and his stomach was sucked in with hunger.

He then tried to cure himself with magic but had no more cures left.

'Damn it!' he groaned wincing.

He stood still for a moment and observed the place he was standing in.

It was dark but the fading light from the sky came in through the windows and lit dimly the room.

He observed the awfully familiar place as his eyes reached the digital screen and he went into shock…

'Have a pleasant flight with Ragnarok 85-LL/6789-Space Ship' he read on the screen surrounded by plenty of buttons.

He realised then he was in the meeting room of the Ragnarok. And if he wasn't mistaken, the whole gang was here with him, including Laguna and Seifer, the last two people he wanted to see at this very moment.

'Damn!' he groaned frustrated, punching in the seat he supported himself on.

_To be continued…_

**Part 19, it was! Did you enjoy that? Please review! Thank you so much for reading! Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments! It fills my heart with happiness! Just review and tell me what you think… Love to all!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Part 20:**

Squall stood there, gazing at the exit door and supporting himself on the couch as he tried to remember what had happened to him and how he had got there…

'…how the hell did I get here…? ' he thought to himself.

'The only thing I remember is hearing her scream and…urgh!' his back hurt as he turned his neck to look around…

'…and now my back hurts like hell…' he moaned.

'Where's is she…' he wondered as he looked around, searching for a sign of her…

Tired of standing, he sat down slowly on the couch…and stared out the window, where the setting sun rays touched his face gently…

Suddenly he heard the elevator coming down from the control room, making him jerk slightly in surprise as he heard Laguna's loud voice babbling as usual outside the meeting room.

'Quistis, it's just that I didn't think it was a good idea, you know, letting them wonder around the world alone with those guys on the loose, I mean…sooner or later they'd appear again and we don't know what could happen next…and I know Squall would do his best to protect Rinoa and try to avoid her abduction at all cost but…he's gotta understand that together things are easier, safer… we're a team…teams stick together…right'' Laguna said softly.

'What a wimp…' Squall thought to himself…

'I know Laguna, it's just that I know Squall…his "lonely wolf" attitude gets the best out of him. I just know he won't be pleased to find himself here when he wakes, he'll be furious…he ran away, precisely to avoid…this…

And by what you told me, I think his reaction was quite predictable, he's a very independent and proud person…it's not anyone who can get around him, you know? He doesn't like to show his true feelings or what's on his mind…he'll push everyone away and now that he has probably found out that you, well…you know…he wants to get away now more than ever…anyway, Laguna, all I want to tell you is that you must understand Squall… he's very proud and very independent… the best way to deal with him is by giving him time… time and space…try and understand him, it's the best way, Laguna. Patience is the only way…' Quistis answered back.

'What does she know about me?' Squall frowned disapprovingly.

'I don't know anymore, Quistis…Sometimes I think it's too late for me…you know…to assume anything…he hates me already and I haven't even spoke to him yet. That just makes things harder between us…sometimes I wonder if he'll ever forgive me…' Laguna said bleakly.

Squall crossed his arms annoyed.

'Don't think about that, you can't give up, Laguna…Sooner or later Squall will have to accept you…he can't run away from the truth all his life…you'll see…just give him some time and space…it's what he needs…trust me.' Quistis smiled confidently.

'Yeah I suppose I mustn't be selfish…if its' time and space that he needs, then I'll do my best and give it to him…I must be patient…I know… it's only fair…' Laguna smiled slightly.

Quistis smiled back.

'I'm just so damn glad Rinoa called us for help…I don't want to think of what could've happened if does guys had appeared once again…' Laguna muttered worriedly.

'What!...Rin, called them! She couldn't have…no…she… couldn't…' Squall held his head between his hands in disbelief.

'She's such a nice girl…always caring for others. I genuinely think she's good for him. Good-hearted, only good intentions towards him…a real darling… just like her mother… she'll be a wonderful sorceress, one of the best we have ever known…. I'm sure…' Laguna smiled delighted.

Quistis remained silent to this and looked down.

Back in the meeting room, Squall now just sat on the couch, holding his head in his hands, stressed with the whole situation as he stared at the emptiness of the room with his eyes half-shut and his mouth slightly open. Feeling down in the dumps as if he had travelled miles and miles alone with Rinoa trying to avoid facing these people to just get picked up by them in the end… the last people he wanted to face right now…

Quistis was tired. She was up to her neck with this talk-talk about how nice Rinoa was. "Rinoa's so nice…Rinoa's such a darling…Rinoa's so pretty…Rinoa's so good-hearted…Rinoa's so this…Rinoa's so that…".

'What's with everyone!' she thought to herself. It already was hard enough for her to try and erase all feelings she had for Squall, but as she tried as hard as she could, a nervous, annoying, disgusting feeling just went on growing inside of her chest. Something she wasn't proud of at all; a horrible feeling that meant only weakness to her…it was jealousy. Quistis was jealous of Rinoa and there was nothing she could do about it…This made her feel so stupid, so futile, so shallow…

At this very moment she just hated herself more than anything else. More than Seifer, even. She felt disgusted with herself, liking someone who already belonged to someone else and feeling jealous of that person…It made her furious, it was weakness at its worse…

'Hello Quistis…' Laguna said cheerfully waving at her.

'Oh…sorry Laguna. What is it?...' Quistis looked down in shame then slowly back at Laguna.

'Err… I was sayin…why don't you go check up on Squall, see if he's awake…you know?' Laguna suggested.

Quistis snorted.

'Oh…I don't think that's a good idea. No, I think I'd be the last thing he'd want to see right now… Rinoa should go…don't you think?' Quistis murmured tiredly.

'Yeah, I suppose, so far she's the only one who really gets along with him, isn't it?' Laguna chuckled.

'Hm-hm…' Quistis smiled tiredly.

'Ok…anyways…What was I saying before that?' Laguna scratched his head…

'The space equipment in the energy room…'

'Oh, yeah…that's it…I was saying…these equipments were used by a group of Galbadian soldiers seventeen years ago…they have files with loads of information about them, date of birth, hometown…anyways…what I thought was really interesting for you was…' Laguna went of gabling loudly at Quistis enthusiastically as Squall just ignored the rest of the conversation…

Laguna and Quistis went on with their conversation for some time, then went for a walk to the energy-room they were talking about, spent some time there and finally returned to the control room where everyone else was.

As soon as Squall had heard the elevator go up again, he decided to go and search for some cure draw-points. He remembered there used to be one near the air-lock room, up the stairs.

Squall got up slowly with some effort, supported himself on the couch for a few seconds and finally took a deep breath and made his way out of the meeting room.

He past by the various rooms slowly, holding his back with one hand, wincing a few times and stopping abruptly as he made wrong moves with his spine. He was really getting impatient with himself…

When he had finally reached the staircase room, he held on the railing tightly and mostly just pulled himself up as he spotted the draw point near the airlock room's door.

The draw point's flames weren't their full size, for someone had already drawn cures from it. Squall started loosing his temper…

He drew from it anyway, getting two cures in return.

It would help a bit, he thought to himself.

He quickly cured himself and felt a lot better, though he could still feel a large sized bruise on his back that would ache if he made rapid moves, but at least now he could walk straight.

Squall stood there for a few moments rubbing his back and he stared over the bridge looking passageway that led to the air-lock room.

He didn't want to return to the meeting room. He really didn't feel like it, so he entered the air-lock room.

There was a big circular window on the ceiling, where he could see the clouds passing by quickly and the sun setting warmly, with is glowing rays making their way through the double-glass window on to a store metal cabinet near the space suits.

Squall made his way towards the sun and sat on the cabinet, leaning against the wall and stared directly out of the ceiling window.

The warm sensation of the sun setting softly on his face was soothing and calming.

He liked that feeling, but as much as he tried to forget about what Rinoa had done, he couldn't.

Her loving, warm beetle brown shinning eyes kept on infiltrating his mind…

'I trusted her… I told her how I would have preferred to just stay away from them instead and she just ignored that…she called them to come and get us…she couldn't have. I told her I wasn't willing to return…'

Squall thought to himself with an unhappy frown on his face.

'She said she wouldn't…and now I'm here…with these people…and I just don't want anything to do with them…' he looked away from the sun.

'I shouldn't be here…I don't want to…' he placed his hand on his face in frustration and massaged his forehead brutally.

His mind was clouded as usual, in thought. He could only think on how much he didn't want to be there.

Meanwhile in the control room.

Laguna and Quistis sat on the couch as he drew sketches of the space ships there used to be in his time, then changing the topic to his favourite journalists and his ambitions, then his favourite music bands and artists while Quistis held her head in her hand, almost falling asleep to the gaggling of Laguna's enthusiastic voice. She was really tired of hearing him. He was basically telling his life story, making Quistis wonder when the ship would land next. Suddenly she had a great idea. She didn't want to be rude, so she used the topic he was talking about to remind him of something…

'Speaking about talking to people, did you already ask Rinoa to go and check up on Squall?' Quistis said tiredly.

Laguna looked up at Quistis and snapped his fingers impatiently turned around to Rinoa who laid on the opposite couch with her head on Zell's lap (he slept deeply with his mouth wide open), sleeping too.

'Rinoa, dear…sorry to bother you but…'

Rinoa opened her eyes and blinked as she stared in Laguna's face. Suddenly she realised something…

'What time is it!' she snapped worriedly getting up in a hurry.

'Oh, you've been sleeping for the past hour or so…' Laguna looked at his watch then back at her.

'Anyways, I was gonna ask you to…' Laguna smiled friendly, but was interrupted by Rinoa…

'Squall…' she murmured softly looking worried.

'I have to go…I'll talk to you later Laguna, sorry…' Rinoa hurried out of the control room and down the elevator she went.

'No problem…' Laguna said.

Quistis was hoping now Laguna had forgotten what he was doing so she could have one moment of silence at last…

'Guess I didn't have to ask her at all…' he chuckled as he sat down beside Quistis again and leaned his backwards and closed his eyes…

'Man, I'm tired…' he moaned.

'So am I…' sighed Quistis as leaned her head on the couch too, closed her eyes in relief and stayed like that for a few moments…

After taking in a few deep breaths, she opened her eyes slowly and found herself staring at Seifer who a few steps away from her, sat on a single seat, and with his arms crossed, he leaned his neck backwards and starred out the window blankly.

She stared at him closely, watching him stare without blinking for long periods of time as he took deep breaths, one at the time, very calmly as if in slow motion…

Quistis wondered what went on in his mind. What would occupy so deeply such a cruel soul as his…

After making herself this question countless times, and just looking at him with a frown on her face, Seifer suddenly turned his neck and looked her straight in the eye, as if he had known all along she had been staring at him. This made Quistis nervous, it was way too weird. His face was as serious as it could be, no furious frown, no sarcastic grin, just a serious face. It was really creepy.

It was strange and scary in other words. He was staring back at her, so directly it almost hurt, not blinking a single time. But Quistis just stared back, wondering what was happening in his head. How did he know she had been looking at him? And did he? There was something weird going on. She didn't know what it was, but it wasn't normal…

His look was piercingly direct, so infiltrating, it made her uncomfortable. She couldn't bear it any longer, her eyes were almost tearing with the stress…she had to look away, but something stopped her from doing so. Finally with a lot of effort, she managed to swerve her eyes onto something else quickly...

That had been a long weird, scary moment, as if he had been reading all her thoughts…Was he? Could he? How? She wondered fearfully.

Rinoa burst into to the meeting room and scoured around worriedly.

'He's already up…' she murmured softly as she turned around and walked out.

She searched all the rooms on her way, calling for him softly in every room, but not finding him in either one of them.

When she finally had reached the stairs room, she had slowed down and walked up the staircase. Then as she made her way across the bridge looking corridor, she noticed the recently dead flames of the draw-point…

The door opened and Squall looked quickly to see who had invaded the room, turning his face quickly back up the window once he had seen who it was.

'I was supposed to be there when you woke up, but… I fell asleep in the control room…' she gasped.

Squall just remained silent to this.

They both just kept quiet for the next long tense moments.

'You're mad at me, aren't you?' she murmured softly.

Squall remained silent continuing to just gaze out of the window.

'It's Ok, you can say you are…I can handle it…' she murmured once again.

'…whatever.' Squall murmured.

'Well, I'm sorry…' she said in grave tone.

'Are you?' he said coldly.

'Yes, I am.'

'Ok…' he said.

'…what's ok?' Rinoa approached him worriedly.

Squall kept quiet.

'Squall? 'she took another step towards him.

'Everything's Ok…isn't that so? Everything's fine…just fine…' he murmured coldly.

'Squall, I said I'm sorry…' she stopped abruptly.

Squall grinned and puffed through his nose sarcastically.

'Sorry about what, Rinoa? You called them, right?' he looked at her with a grinning stupefied face.

'Yes, I did…but I didn't want…' Rinoa tried to explain herself but…

'But, what? But what!...but you didn't mean to? Is that it? C'mon, Rin…I'm not that stupid… ' he said furiously.

'If you just give me a chance to explain…please, Squall, there's no need for this…'

'Fine…go ahead…' he said carelessly.

'Squall, I called them to come and get us because…you were hurt, you were unconscious…I didn't really have a choice, you know? I was scared, Squall…I couldn't risk having you get worse…you were already hurt from the fight you had with Seifer…I wasn't going to stick to a promise that could put your life in danger…I couldn't.' Rinoa was now right next to him, but he insisted on not looking at her.

'My life wasn't at risk…it was yours…' he murmured.

'I could still walk, run, save my life…but you…you were hurt, you wouldn't be able to run if you had to…I saw him kick you in your back, Squall…I know you wouldn't be able to move. That's why I did what I had to do…even if it meant you not speaking to me for a long time…'

'I wasn't that hurt…I would have preferred to stay there then put up with these guys…' he mumbled.

'Forget about it, Squall. You're here now…and you gonna have to face them sooner or later…' Rinoa said.

'But did it have to be now, Rin? When we were this close from Ganahir! We would have made it, I'm sure…we don't need them…' Squall finally looked at her in her eyes as he spoke.

'Yes, we do. Squall, they're our comrades. We're on the same side…we're a team. We work together…that's why…friends care for each other and they care for you…and I'm sure you care for them too…' Rinoa held his hand caringly.

'How can you be so sure about that?' Squall smirked and looked at her, already feeling lighter.

'Because I know…' Rinoa smiled.

'Know, what?' he grinned slightly.

'I know you like them…' she murmured leaning her face against his, their lips an inch away from each other.

'Does "them" include you?…' he murmured smiling, squinting his eyes to look into hers.

Rinoa nodded.

Squall reached his hand for her face and kissed her lovingly. The anger in his veins had evaporated…

**To be continued…**

**Sorry, sorry, sorry guys…! I'm sooo busy, I have to study and do loads of homework…Please forgive me for the short chapter. I really didn't want to keep you guys waiting too long, so I hope it pleases you despite the fact of it being a little shorter then the others. Thanks for reading everyone! Thank you so much!**

**Thanks Zerda, Marta, Angelo, Squall!...everyone!**

**Please review:)**

**P.S: Dxculpa lá não ter atendido, Martuxa. A gente fala depois, oki? Bjinhux!**

**Marta e-mail me to mitigwakiisapo.pt, ok? I don't have access to my other one! **


	21. Chapter 21

**Part 21: C'mon now Trepe…**

After those few moments of unstoppable passion, Squall and Rinoa parted.

'What…?' Squall asked her softly as he watched her stare into his eyes with a dreamy expression on her face.

'It feels good…' she murmured, continuing to glare at him.

'What feels good?' he gave a small, cute corner smile.

'…to be here with you again…' she smiled shyly as she put her arms gently around him again and leaned her head against his strong chest.

Squall just silently accepted her and held her gently in his arms.

'…our first time here, do you remember?' she asked him, closing her eyes and imagining that day in out of space. She relived those moments all again in her mind.

'Yeah, I remember…' he smiled slightly as he remembered Rinoa wanting to hug him for saving her.

'…I thought I'd never see you again. I thought I'd die in that infinite abyss, alone, struggling for oxygen…' Rinoa's voice started to shake as she relived those intense moments of despair so clearly in her mind.

'But you didn't… I would've never let that happen…you know that…' Squall felt a little shaken by intense memory of the piercing fear of loosing her forever…

'…it was like my prays were answered when I felt those hands hold me from behind…like an angel had came to rescue me from that endless, lonely hell…' she murmured weakly.

'On that moment…everything seemed unreal, as if I were dreaming… I confess that I even thought I was having an hallucination from the lack of oxygen in my space-suit, but no…it wasn't. Everything was real, you had come for me and when I heard your voice, I knew…I knew things were changing. I knew then how important you really were to me…my last breaths and thoughts, they would've all been for you…but then, you came. And you saved my life. ' her voice trembled.

'I didn't save you…I just found you, Rin…I was lucky because if it hadn't been for the Ragnarok, our bodies would've been swirling around, lost in space, for all eternity…' Squall frowned as he snickered the last words out.

'…but we're here, Squall. And I truly believe that if we escaped from death so closely, it really must have meant something important…I need no proof to believe in that.' she murmured.

'I don't know what it means but… we've escaped death many times and up until now, we're still together. Even after all we've been through…there must be some sort of meaning to this…I just don't know what it is.' she murmured.

'Rin, there's no point in guessing, we'll never know. We can only hope we're still able to swerve from death in the future… until fate finally decides a proper ending for us.' Squall answered back gently.

'No one can predict the future, I suppose…' she said softly tightening the embrace.

'That's right…nobody can…'

They stayed like that for the next moments, silently, just thinking about the future as they held lovingly onto each other's embrace, without a single word. There was no need, for they shared exactly the same thoughts and fears.

A few moments later…

'Squall… when you jumped out of the space shuttle that was heading back to earth, to come and find me, how did you know you'd really find me?' Rinoa pulled away gently to look at him worriedly.

'Well, I didn't.' Squall pulled an odd frown. 'I suppose I didn't really think about anything at the time, the only thing I knew, was you…so, I did what I had to.' Squall murmured a little puzzled, trying to be very sincerer.

'Weren't you even scared about ending your own life and probably not even finding me, of getting lost yourself…all for nothing? Didn't you fear that?' Rinoa asked him inquisitively.

'Rin… at that moment I couldn't care less about my life…if you were gone… I would probably have never told you this then, but…there would be no purpose to anything. I wouldn't want life…I had to get you back…that's all I was certain of.' Squall looked down shyly, then faced her with a serious expression.

'If something ever happened to me, I wouldn't want you to think like that…I'd rather die again, then have you reject your own life…' Rinoa touched his face caringly as she spoke, feeling very emotional as her eyes started to shine with tears.

'Hey…what's that about?' Squall murmured as he noticed the tears in her eyes, as he placed both hands around her face, wiping her tears away with his thumbs.

'Why's my little owl crying?' he smiled comfortingly at her.

Rinoa looked down shyly and smiled as she continued to cry.

'I'm just so glad I have you by my side…that's all.' she looked worriedly at him as she hiccupped the words out.

'I'll always be…you know that, right?' he smiled as he put his arms around her and rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

'Now…Rin, I know all this is painful to you and that's why I'm asking you to stop thinking about it. It's not good to relive traumatic moments…it will only break you down, you don't want that, it's the last thing you want…' he murmured sweetly in her ear.

Rinoa nodded in his shoulder as she sobbed.

'There's no need to strain your heart on past experiences, especially as painful as those…' Squall pulled away gently to look at her.

'Just smile for me, ok?' he asked her kindly.

Rinoa formed a true sweet smile on her wet, rosy face as she stared in his comforting, stunningly deep blue eyes.

'You're beautiful, you know that…?' he murmured sincerely a few moments after analysing her beauty.

After hearing this, Rinoa smiled even more broadly and flipped her arms around his neck searching his warm, protective embrace again.

'Feeling better?' he asked her gently.

Rinoa nodded as she kissed his cheek sweetly.

In response, Squall caressed her head comfortingly as he leaned his face against her silky, heavenly perfumed hair.

They stood that way for long, silently, just hearing the ship's engine work and their hearts thump…

Rinoa's tears had all dried and Squall closed his eyes to loose himself in that wonderful sensation of having her in his arms once again, just like he urged for some time now.

Suddenly Rinoa pulled away slowly to face him…

'Maybe we should go now, Squall. We shouldn't worry them…'

Squall remained silent as he looked down bleakly.

'I-I know it's hard…but I also know you're strong… Isn't it just best to end this discomfort at once? If you just leave those bad thoughts behind, I'm sure you can accept them back in your life. You belong with them…you know that, don't you?' Rinoa touched his face lovingly.

'…' Squall looked at her with a frown on his face, staring into her eyes with a mix of trust, fear, worry and sadness.

But that immense love that shinned from her eyes, reached him. It gave him strength and courage. It was compensative for all the hurt he felt. Like water in a desert. Just like the first time they had met.

His soul would always get lost in that look where he could only find peace and comfort. All bad feelings were erased when she was with him. He could do anything he set his mind on; he just needed that look…

Rinoa took his numb hand and held it tightly in hers as she stared in his eyes confidently, making him feel stronger and able to face the situation…

He knew then, on that moment, he could do it…

Squall tightened his hand around hers, looked back in her loving beetle-black shinny eyes and thought: 'I'm going through with this, for the best…'

Rinoa understood what that look in his eyes meant. She nodded slightly her head with confidence as she read his thoughts. And so they both made their way towards the exit door. They were heading to the control-room.

When they had finally reached the elevator room, they both had stopped in front of the platform.

'Ok, this is it.' he thought to himself as he stepped on the platform nervously.

As the platform raised in the air, Rinoa gave Squall an encouraging look, which made him feel a little more confident.

The platform had reached the room as Squall and Rinoa saw the whole gang there, everyone except for Laguna. This was quite a relief for Squall, he really didn't feel like having Laguna treat him like his son, right now. It was mind boggling…odd. Most uncomfortable.

'Squall, dude! How's it going?' Zell turned around and grinned, walking up to him and making a high-five.

Squall didn't respond to Zell's high-five on purpose. He knew it ticked him off.

'The same as usual…hasn't changed a bit…' Zell moaned as he threw himself on the couch. Squall gave a naughty corner smile, which only Quistis had seen.

'Welcome back, Squall.' Quistis smiled as she looked at him pass by her.

Squall nodded, remaining silent.

Irvine punched his shoulder friendly as Squall passed by him.

'Good to be on the same team as you, man…' Irvine smiled broadly.

'Hi Squall!' Selphie turned in her pilot seat and smiled at him.

Seifer who was back faced to everyone, continued to look out the window silently.

Squall felt relieved. He could see everyone there, happy to see him as if nothing had happened. He was certain now that things hadn't changed between them.

'Sit down…' Rinoa pulled Squall by his sleeve as Squall's eyes caught Seifer's.

Squall gave him a hating look, then sat down next to Rinoa.

'You'll need this back!' Zell yelled throwing Squall's Gunblade in the air as it spin gracefully, with its chain kinkily wrap around its handle. Squall lifted up and caught it steadily by its handle as if the Gunblade had longed to be in its owners hand for long.

'Thanks' Squall muttered.

'It's a heavy thing you've got there…don't have the slightest clue how you manoeuvre it… ' Zell shook his hands tiredly with a smile.

Squall sat down again and passed his fingers along the shinny blade he fascinated so much, as he enjoyed the sharp shine from the reflected light.

'We're almost, almost there! Thirty more k's! ' Selphie babbled excitedly.

'…Selphie stop the ship!' Quistis got up quickly and ran up to Selphie's seat as soon as the words had came out of her tiny mouth.

'Why? We're still not there…Look, twenty more k's!' NO…actually it's nineteen…' Selphie pointed at the kilometre metre.

'Selphie …stop! Don't you remember? We can't be seen…Not in Ganahir!' Quistis insisted, pushing Selphie's arms out of the way and pulling the brakes. The whole ship jerked violently, stopping in mid-air and finally descending, making its smooth way to land.

'Whoa! CLUMP' sounded Laguna's voice from under the control room.

'I see…' Selphie felt a little silly.

Quistis sighed. 'It's ok, Selphie…I-I should've warned you earlier on…We' stopped in time…everything's fine.' Quistis put her hand on Selphie's shoulder, friendly.

The elevator had brought Laguna into the room in the most unusual way. He was sitting on the platform and his long hair was covering his face, making him look like some kind of hairy beast.

Laguna passed his fingers through his hair vainly and embarrassedly got up to his feet.

'So…what's up? Are we there yet?' he walked coolly towards Quistis and Selphie.

'We're exactly sixteen kilometre's from Ganahir's main forest.' Quistis informed.

'Cool! Let's get ready to kick some ass!' Zell jumped up excitedly.

'Not so fast, man…just now you end up kicking ours…' Irvine chuckled as he watched Zell punch the air furiously.

'Only if you want me to…' Zell teased him, kicking Irvine's butt.

'Hey!...' Irvine jerked and turned around in surprise as he started to walk coolly towards Zell in a threatening way. 'What do you think you're doing!...these are rare nowadays! You don't want to bruise this one, you just don't…'cause if you do I'll …' Irvine wasn't allowed to finish.

'Ok, ok everyone…let's collect our weapons and don't forget to equip yourselves properly…this place has some dangerous creatures running around, poisonous beasts included…draw as much as you can…we kind of dry on cures.' Quistis suggested as everyone gathered around her to listen up (except for Seifer, of course).

'Yes, Ma'am!' Zell ran off to fetch the other weapons.

'I'm gonna warn Headmaster Cid we've arrived, then.' Squall said as he searched his pockets for his IC…unsuccessfully.

'Damn…I left my IC in my other jacket…damn…!' he muttered to himself.

'What was that, Squall?' Quistis asked him with a grin on her face.

'It's nothing…' he groaned as he looked around the room for Rinoa.

When Squall had finally spotted her talking to Selphie, he left Quistis on her own and walked up to her…

Quistis just remained on the spot as she sighed bleakly.

'Rin...can you lend me your IC, I've left mine in my other jacket…' he asked Rinoa, looking down embarrassedly.

'Hey, Squall! I think that won't be necessary! Look…' Selphie smiled cheerfully as she spoke, pointing behind him.

'Whoa…these things are heavy…Yo, Squall! Your jacket! Bet you've missed that, huh?' Zell grinned as he through Squall's black jacket at him, barely making it with all the weapons.

'Thanks, Zell…' Squall caught his jacket and started searching the pockets…

'Now that's lucky, isn't it?' Rinoa smiled at him.

'You left it on the river side of river Pebbles…remember?' Selphie watched him.

'Yeah…stupid thing to do…' he groaned.

Finally Squall had found his IC and opened it quickly as he walked a few meters away from the two girls…

'You still insisting with that ridiculous pet name, aren't you? You don't have to baptise everything you bump into, you know? But of course, with such a tiny degree of intelligence, who wouldn't?' Seifer smirked as he approached Rinoa and Selphie coolly.

'No one asked your point of view, Seifer…' Rinoa groaned.

'Well put, Rinoa. But any intelligent human being after overhearing such a disgraceful lack of integrity would probably question the sanity of the creature who said it…' Seifer smirked.

'I'll show you integrity!' Selphie put her hands around Seifer's neck and started to strangle him, but Seifer was much stronger than her and was able to hold onto her arms tightly, hurting her wrist in the process.

'Seifer, let go of her! You're hurting her! Stop it!' Rinoa tried to pull on Seifer's arm, but he brutally pocked her with his elbow.

'Let go of me! You bully!' Selphie groaned.

'You better not mess with me, you little insignificant creature!' Seifer smirked furiously as he shook her wrists brutally.

'The creature has a name…' Irvine's voice sounded from behind him.

'Oh, look who came to join the conversation: Toy-gun Boy!...I wonder if he has anything to say…' Seifer let go of Selphie (throwing her down in the process), turned around to face Irvine, with a grin on his face.

'Get away from them, you wimp…' Irvine groaned as he approached his face threateningly towards Seifer's.

'Oh…now isn't that new…the woman's man threatening me, what a shameful sight…' Seifer smirked as he crossed his arms challengingly.

'Get…away from them…' Irvine groaned once again.

'…or what?' Seifer smirked maliciously.

'…or you'll have my Toy-gun blow your tongue out through your own very brains…' Irvine groaned threateningly as he drew his shot gun, and pocked it tightly up Seifer's chin as he prepared it to shoot.

Seifer started to grind his teeth with fury.

'Irvine! Stop it, this instant!' Quistis yelled.

'Just what do you think you're doing?' Quistis said as she walked up to them both.

'Telling him to get away from the girls…' Irvine smiled innocently at Quistis then faced Seifer and smirked at him.

'Well, are you finished? We don't have time for this…C'mon, everyone's waiting for you three…four' Quistis said disapprovingly as Squall appeared from behind her and Irvine.

'I've warned Cid. He says we're still in time, according to the radar's circuit, there hasn't been many changes since we arrived in Win-Hill. Nobody knows about us or our next move to Ganahir…' informed Squall as he watched Seifer sweat nervously under the control of the shot-gun…

'What's this?' Squall asked with a certain tone of pleasure in his voice.

'Oh, nothing really, just a friendly warning as you can see…' Irvine said lightly.

'What warning?' Squall grinned.

'Seifer was getting smart with our girls…wasn't he?' Irvine pushed the shot-gun's mouth tighter to his chin.

'You'll regret this…both of you…' Seifer said in a struggle as his words came out all muffled.

'Now that's interesting…sorry couldn't hear you…speak a little louder for us, will you?' Squall smirked in his ear.

Seifer was getting annoyed, really annoyed. His blood was boiling in his veins with fury and hate that his face would just get flushed with red.

Quistis allowed the whole scene to go on for a few moments, kind of enjoying to see Seifer get what he deserved. But, she had responsibilities, and she couldn't let her feelings towards Seifer control her position and make use of it to punish someone. She had to end this at once, she thought. Before something bad would happen to anyone…

'Ok, guys. That's enough…we really can't afford to waste anymore time here…just let go of him…' Quistis asked them politely.

'Sure, Quistis…Let us just give our final word…you go along we'll catch up now, now…' Irvine said as he stared at Seifer's fearful, furious face.

'I said now.' Quistis's voice got strict.

Irvine looked at Quistis in surprise for a few moments, then back at Seifer…

'You've been warned.' Irvine groaned at Seifer, giving him a hard push as he removed his Shot-gun brutally from under his chin.

Seifer gasped as he rubbed his chin furiously.

'Please go. I'll be down in a second…' Quistis said as Rinoa and Selphie moved away.

'Are you mad! Leave you alone _with him_? You must be jokin'!' Irvine said loudly as he looked at her in surprise.

'It's fine, Irvine. He's not armed…I am…' she said confidently.

'Are you sure, Quistis?' Squall asked her.

'Yes, I'm sure. I'll be down in a moment.' Quistis looked at them confidently.

'Fine. We're downstairs if you need anything…You have been warned Seifer…' Irvine muttered, giving Seifer a last dirty look.

'Look, I'm so worried…' Seifer muttered tonelessly. 'I'll be armed next time, Cow-girl…' he went on.

'C'mon…' Squall said, pulling Irvine by his coat as they both disappeared down the elevator platform.

Quistis inhaled slowly as she continued to stare at the platform blankly.

'…I can see you've gained a liking to our one-on-one encounters…' Seifer smirked. Quistis didn't face him, but she could hear that he was now approaching her from behind.

'You've been urging for this moment, haven't you?' he murmured in her ear as he put his hands around her waist unexpectedly. This made Quistis shiver, he already had tried to get lucky with her a few times and he was doing it again. She couldn't let him get his way again, she couldn't go numb now and allow him to take advantage of her, she thought.

Quistis was shivering with nervousness, but she wasn't going numb or helpless as usual, and she knew exactly why. She wasn't falling in his trap because he wasn't facing her; those electric devilish blue eyes of his weren't staring into hers this time. Quistis was glad and took a few steps forward in order to get his hands persuading hands off her.

'Unfortunately, I haven't... I despise every moment spent with you. I regret having bothered to fetch you from Deling City. I can't wait to hear the last of you…' Quistis spat out in an angry and nervous tone of voice as she turned around to face him. She realised now he was right on top of her. He was lurking over her and this made her nervous.

'Very well… then what is it that you want to talk to me about?' Seifer asked her, still smiling maliciously, with a darkened look in his shocking blue eyes that contrasted brightly with his blond hair.

'This mission carries a great responsibility, and that responsibility is ours to keep, Seifer. We have to do our best for the people of Ganahir and defeat who ever is planning on acquiring the Tear Blossom. It is our duty to avoid that at all cost and protect Rinoa's powers from being used in their plans. We have no choice but to win this battle. It's the world's freedom that is at stake…' Quistis took a few steps backward as she spoke.

Seifer started to clap his hands as he approached her with his usual smirk on his face.

'Now I can't tell if that was a speech or a lecture…did you actually write that down and memorise it?' Seifer mocked her.

'In case you haven't noticed yet, Seifer, I'm very serious. I expect you to listen and show some respect…'

'Respect, respect, respect….now that's a tricky word, isn't it? You never know when it means obedience, cowardice or consideration…the three ridiculous concepts I despise...' Seifer murmured looking in her eyes piercingly as he went on approaching her slowly.

'Please Seifer, let's not waste time. I really need to know if you are willing…' Quistis said.

'Willing? Now that's interesting…willing to do what?' Seifer's facial expression changed from malice to curiosity.

'Seifer, you've told me you've spend some time exploring Ganahir in your youth and I need to know, if you're willing to show us the way into a discreet area of Ganahir. That is if you know the place well enough, of course…' Quistis looked away as she spoke (trying to make it look casual), not being able to stare into to those electric, piercing, mind-reading blue eyes of his. It was almost painful.

'Why did you swerve your eyes?' he asked her unexpectedly as he tilted his head to get a proper look at her.

Quistis sighed. 'Are you willing?…' she murmured looking away.

'I saw that…you swerved your eyes from me…why did you?' he went on with an amused look on his face.

'Seifer, I asked you a question…' Quistis looked at him briefly, then looked away again.

'Now that's interesting…you did it again, you keep swerving your eyes from mine…why's that?' he smirked.

'Answer my question, Seifer…' Quistis said seriously.

'I won't answer, if you don't…' he said now loosing his sarcastic smile.

'Seifer, please…just cut the crap…' Quistis sighed as she held her face with her hand, showing signs of distress.

'You wrong if you think you'll get your way by fainting again, you know? I know what I saw…' Seifer insisted, raising his arm and taking hold of Quistis's face, forcing hers to face his and giving her no choice but to look him in the eye.

Seifer watched her closely as she blinked and gasped nervously, tearing compulsively as she stared in his eyes with hate and fury. She then hated him more than ever, having the fact that she was tearing annoy her even more and make the blood in her veins boil with an inexplicable feeling of hatred towards him. She didn't have the slightest clue for why Seifer's look caused that effect on her. It was most humiliating…

Seifer tightened his grip around her face and approached his one.

'You tear when you look in my eyes…that's unusual…' he murmured softly as Quistis could feel his breath hit her face as he spoke.

Quistis was starting to get that mesmerized sensation in her again, her body seemed to be getting numb again and her brain seemed to be entering a hypnosis state. She wanted to avoid that at all cost. It couldn't happen now… not again.

Quistis then closed her eyes, before it was too late and grabbed his arms, trying to make him let go of her, before he had complete control over her.

'You can't control me anymore Seifer…let go of me…'Quistis said as she held tightly onto his hands, almost pinching them.

'I don't wish to control you, Quistis…why? Do you feel controlled? Hm?' he asked her softly as if he hadn't heard what she had just said.

'I know exactly what your goals in life are…I don't need to feel anything…' Quistis groaned angrily.

'Is that so? Prove it to me then…look in my eyes…or are you scared?' he murmured.

'So you can take advantage of me? I know from the past, Seifer…you do this to me all the time. I'm not submitting myself to it again…if you don't want to show us the way into Ganahir, then don't. But you won't be having me under your power ever again…' Quistis gasped tightening her eyelids down.

'Giving up so early? Who said I wasn't willing? I haven't answered yet, have I?' Seifer smirked.

'Then make it quick…we don't have time for your indecisions…' Quistis groaned as she jerked out of his hands as soon as she felt his grip soften. She took two steps backwards as she looked away quickly from his face.

'I have reasons for my indecisions, you know?' he went on calmly, following her.

'Right now I'm only interested in your answer…' she pushed her hair behind her ear nervously.

'And that's why I've made my decision…' he murmured as she could hear his footsteps approach her.

'…make it brief…' Quistis grumbled. And before she knew it Seifer had took her arm and pulled her in his direction, making her turn around and face him…

'Briefer than this?' he said maliciously as in a split of a second his lips had took hold of hers. And with quick, greedy moves of his lips he kissed her unexpectedly.

Quistis had gone into shock, one moment he had been talking to her, the next he was kissing her, holding her by her arm tightly, and softening the grip as their lips met…

And although he was a good kisser, Quistis resisted his kiss and pulled away abruptly.

'What are you doing!' she yelled furiously staring into his eyes without knowing it herself.

'I'm willing. I know Ganahir like the palm of my hand…I'm willing to guide you…' he licked his lips as he spoke with a proud grin on his face.

Quistis rolled her eyes and exhaled furiously.

'…was I brief enough?' he muttered.

'Listen you little "Play-Boy-Bully" if you think you can just kiss me any time you want, you are very mistaken…the next time you…' Quistis's nostrils widened as she turned around and marched up to him with an angry look upon her face as her finger pointed threateningly in his face, but before she could finish what she was saying…

'Planning a next encounter already, are you?' he smirked annoyingly.

Quistis's hand raised in direction of Seifer's annoying face, but before she could smack him, Seifer had already caught her hand in time…

'Uh-uh…C'mon now, Trepe…I know you liked it, why hit me?' he murmured as he brought her hand closer to his face, opened his mouth slightly and pretended to bite her fingers off by clenching his jaws together as he stared in her eyes provocatively…

Quistis tried to free her hand as he unexpectedly dropped it carelessly and walked away coolly.

'You're sick!' she hissed at him as she turned around to find him making his way towards the platform.

'You don't wanna keep the others waiting, Instructor, now, do you? An Instructor must always set the example…' he smirked one last time and finally disappeared down the elevator.

Quistis roared furiously as soon as he was gone, leaned over on the pilot seat as she clapped her hand on her forehead furiously.

'Why?' she groaned, clenching her teeth.

'When is he going to stop!...it just gets worse and worse…' she muttered to herself.

Quistis couldn't get through to Seifer. It was worse than handling a beast with no weapon. Just that with the beast you could still run away, but with Seifer you couldn't. He'd always find a way to take control. It was horrible to feel helpless all the time when he was around…

She could swear there was something wrong in his head, or he just simply liked to act sick. She didn't know what she felt anymore for him, hatred, disgust or fear. But she was as frustrated as she had ever been in her whole life. She had no idea it would be so hard to work with Seifer in the first place. If she had known, she would've listened to the others and left him in Deling. But it was already late, he was part of the team and he was going to do his best to drive her crazy.

Now more than ever she wished that she had left him tied to that tree in Win Hill so the Unicorn could have killed him.

'I'm not wasting one more second thinking about that asshole. It's probably what he wants…the idiot…I think I'm gonna need a shrink when this mission is over…' she clapped her hand to her face.

Suddenly the rising of the elevator sounded behind her. Quistis got a nervous twitch in her fist…

'I swear if you…' Quistis turned on her heel as she faced the person who had entered the control room.

'Whoa Quisty! Hold on there… Are you ok? I saw the jerk leave without you…' Irvine said worriedly as Squall and Zell stood there as well staring at her.

'Oh it's you…I'm sorry…I-I'm fine.' She sighed as she walked up to the platform and went down with the boys.

'You sure?' You don't look too good…' Zell said worriedly.

'Did he hurt you?' Squall asked her furiously.

'No…' Quistis sighed shaking her head.

'What did he do?' Irvine asked at once.

'Nothing…boys, I'm fine…really, don't worry about me. It's not exactly soothing to talk to him, you know?' she snickered, still a little stupefied.

'I bet…with that stupid grin on his face all the time…' Zell mumbled.

'If it were only that, Zell. If it were only that…' Quistis sighed.

'What do you mean?' Squall asked her suspiciously.

'Never mind everyone…let's just set our minds on the mission. After all it's what we here for…not to solve my personal problems.' Quistis smiled weakly.

By the time this conversation was over, Quistis and the three boys had reached the exit stairs of the Ragnarok and made their way towards the snowy plains.

**And that was part 21! Hope you liked it… It was kind of hard writing this chapter…I don't know why…anyways, send in your comments, I'll love to read them. I'd also like to hear which is your favourite part of the fic, if you don't mind…Thanks everyone! Thank you so much! Review! Please! **

**PS: Is it true that most of the readers of FF8 fics are girls!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Part 22: I don't know…**

It was already dark and the moon's bright light reflected onto the snowy grounds where the little snow flakes would land gently. As the four comrades made their way down the steps, they sighted four darkened figures lit slightly by the light provided from the moon: Irvine who seemed to have his arm around Selphie, talking softly in her ear, probably trying to cheer her up. Laguna leaned against the gigantic ship as he looked at a huge map, turning it around over and over again with a puzzled expression on his face. Seifer, isolated, a few feet away from the others casting _Firaga _on the trees in front of him. And finally a thin, small figure walking up to him and shaking his arm as she made a gesture with her hand and blew out the burning trees.

'There's no need for that, is there Seifer?…' Rinoa muttered disapprovingly with a cold look upon her face after putting the fire out.

Seifer just snorted and followed her with his eyes as she made her way up to Squall.

'Just to show your miserable powers off…how shameful…' he sneered.

Rinoa just ignored him and made her way quickly to the ship's entrance.

'Quistis is everything ok?' Rinoa asked, holding onto Squall's arm gently as she noticed Quistis stressed aura.

'Huh?...Oh…yes, I'm fine, thanks…' Quistis smiled weakly, looking at them both with bleakness, walking away from them and heading quickly in Laguna's direction.

'I give up…' Laguna sighed impatiently, frowned and finally after twisting the map around one last time, he folded it impatiently and stuffed it in his waistcoat's inner pocket.

'Hey, Laguna…Not thinking on giving up on it are you?' Zell approached both of them.

'Leave it up to me…' Zell stretched his hand out proudly and grabbed the map from Laguna's hand as soon as he had taken it out of his pocket.

'Ok…Let me see...So…we're here. And we need to go… there…so we must go south-east…wait. No, no, no… (He turned the map around). We're here…wait a second. If we want to go here…how come…I don't get it…!(he turned the map around once again). Huh! I get it! We're here, so we have to go all the way through here to get… that's a lake…no, no. (After staring for long at the map) Is there any chance Ganahir's is on a lake or maybe next to one?' Zell peeped at Quistis and Laguna with suspicion on his face as they just rolled their eyes.

'Oh, yeah…'course there is…the population consists mainly on aquatic creatures, you know…fish, crabs, frogs…of course not, Zell…' Laguna said sarcastically as he started to gaggle at his own joke.

'You never know…they could be disguised…as you…' Zell answered back to Laguna's joke, passing the map back to him, slapping it on his chest with an accomplished smile.

'…' Laguna sucked in his cheeks and imitated fish lips as he kept a serious mocking face.

Zell just snorted and started having a laughter fit.

'Hey, hey! Boys! C'mon…there's no time for joking around. Use your brains for once; please…this isn't a joke, Ok?' Quistis clicked her tongue with impatience.

Laguna and Zell started to calm down and tried to pull serious faces with some difficulty, every now and then Laguna would pull a "fish face".

'Now there's something I have to inform you about…And I don't want any fighting against it. It's our only chance of being successful on this mission…'

'How, Quisty? We don't have a clue on how the hell to get there on foot and this forest is huge and looks all the same to me…we're probably lost and it's freezing out here! 'Zell said now seriously with a worried tone in his voice.

'I mean…just look at the map…I can try and look, but we don't even know where the hell we are…' Zell grabbed the map back from Laguna and examined it.

'What's up?' Irvine approached Quistis, Laguna and Zell with Selphie under his arm, who seemed a little more lightened up and Squall and Rinoa who walked behind them.

The gang had all circled around Quistis and Laguna (except for Seifer who had disappeared into the forest for a few minutes and then appeared with a dead fox over his shoulder)...

'How sick in your mind can you get?' Selphie muttered as she watched Seifer's shadow swing the creature off his shoulder onto the snowy ground with a loud thump.

'What is he doing?' muttered Zell this time with an aghast expression on his face.

At this Rinoa looked to see what Seifer was doing.

'No!' Rinoa murmured, hiding her face in Squall's shoulder as she saw Seifer's shadow rip the dead creature apart with his sword.

To Rinoa's terrified look, Quistis instinctively looked at what Seifer was doing.

'Seifer is going to show us the way…' she murmured as she watched him cruelly tare the animal apart with disgust.

'What!' Zell gasped with a stupefied smile.

'Sorry, I think I misunderstood…' Irvine scratched his head and closed his eyes for a few moments then looked at Quistis with a disbelieving frown.

'No, you haven't. It's going to be this way: Seifer is our guide into Ganahir….Now don't look at me like that… It's the only way! He knows Ganahir like the palm of his hand…he can lead us discreetly into the place! ' Quistis raised her voice impatiently as she waved her hands.

'Do you think we can trust him on that?' Squall looked Quistis briefly in the eye, then looked down shyly.

'I think we can.' She murmured looking down as well.

'What! Trust that git! Not even dead!' Zell groaned as he crossed his arms impatiently.

'Zell, I'm not going to waste time explaining that it's our only chance of not being seen…we must take advantage of it…' Quistis looked at him, expecting him to quit with his non-cooperative behaviour.

'Yeah sure, go ahead….Trust the jerk… But if he "betrays" you, I'm not gonna stand still…I'll murder him…he's the one who took Adel's side in the first place, just remember that, ok?…he was willing to kill her!…(he pointed at Rinoa briefly as he stared in Quistis's eyes seriously)' Zell groaned between his teeth and walked away into the dark.

'He's right…' Irvine murmured looking at Quistis seriously.

'I know…but it's our only chance. And we have to take it…' Quistis murmured looking at Irvine and then at the others almost begging for approval.

'I'm with the plan…' Laguna said simply.

The whole gang looked up simultaneously at Laguna as they heard his voice for the first time in such a long silence.

'I'm willing to take a chance…we can't afford to be seen now, can we? Let's do it. If worst comes to worst, we'll just have to survive it, like we have done until now…' Laguna said looking confident.

To this Squall rolled his eyes impatiently, having Rinoa catch him and pocking him with her elbow with disapproval.

Squall looked at her and mimed 'what!' with a surprised look on his face. She just shook her head as if he was a lost case. Squall smiled at her sweetly and Rinoa who just couldn't resist that cute little grin, smiled back lovingly.

'I-I'm in too...I'll make sure he doesn't try anything…' Squall muttered calmly looking shyly at Quistis, then giving a glimpse at Laguna instinctively and looking down again. Squall didn't know why he hadn't waited for someone else to agree first, now he feared that Laguna would probably think he did it because he wanted to show sympathy towards him. But he really didn't want to…at least he thought so…

Quistis nodded happily and looked at Irvine hopefully.

'No. I just don't agree with this…I don't think he can be trusted…_I_ wouldn't…' Irvine's eyes widened as he spoke.

Quistis tilted her head and looked away impatiently.

'C'mon Irvy…we all know we haven't got much of a choice…Seifer's the only one who knows this place…and think if we actually get there with out being seen, it will only be good!' Selphie murmured at him, pulling his sleeve.

'Fine, fine…let's do it…' Irvine groaned impatiently crossing his arms.

'I'm with it too…' Rinoa said eagerly as she looked at Quistis seriously.

'Great. Thanks guys…Could someone go and get Zell? We should really get going, we've wasted enough time. We must reach Ganahir before morning…' Quistis said shortly as she took off in Seifer's direction quickly.

'Will it take that long?' Selphie's eyes widened.

'I dunno…but eighteen K's is quite a lot to walk…we'll be lucky if we make it there before the sun rises…' Irvine muttered.

'Did you see the way Seifer just killed that poor animal?' Selphie stared at Quistis making her way to Seifer.

'Killed? You mean mutilated. He's a nut…take my word for it…and I don't want you near him…do you hear?' Irvine groaned looking in the same direction as her with disgust.

'I don't think I'll be near him so soon…' Selphie mumbled.

'If he touches you, I'll just…blow his brains through his…' Irvine grunted through his teeth furiously as Selphie clapped her hand to his mouth, avoiding him from saying anything vulgar.

'…Through his nose!' Irvine yelled as he pulled Selphie's arm away and then smiled mischievously.

'I'll go get Zell…' Squall said as he marched off into the darkness, tightening his belt.

'I guess we should go meet up with Quistis and Seifer, huh?' murmured Rinoa as she watched Squall worriedly. His clothes were already becoming baggy on him. He was getting thinner as the days passed, but that didn't seem to take him down. He was as strong as before, probably even stronger. He seemed not to need food for long, because he just went on and on. Very courageous he was, that she knew for sure. That just made her love him even more and the fact that he now went on being the same proud Squall, she had known before, meant he was finally coming back to himself. Even his way of walking up straight, like a fine soldier or confident warrior had returned. She didn't like seeing him when he was in the forest at Win Hill, bleak and tired of living. Walking like a tired soldier who had lost all his pride and reasons to fight. She had missed him. But now things were normal again. That was all that really mattered.

'Yeah, I guess…' Selphie said tonelessly, looking at Irvine with worry as he frowned furiously.

And so they walked up to Quistis and Seifer who seemed to be having a silent conversation as Seifer went on cutting the fur off the dead creature.

'Dunno why you so amazed at a dead animal…' Seifer groaned.

'You mean a slaughtered one?' Selphie said sarcastically.

'You're mercenaries and you talk like cowards…' Seifer groaned as he cut the last piece of skin off the fur and threw it on the pile of flesh that laid on the cold icy ground painted red with blood.

'Mercenaries don't just slaughter animals for entertainment…' Selphie groaned back at him.

'It's a stupid thing to confuse survival with entertainment… In case you SeeD's haven't noticed yet, it snows and the temperature tends to become even more negative through the night…right now I kill to survive…' Seifer said as he flipped the animal's fur over his shoulders.

'C'mon, Seph…You don't wanna talk to this dude…' Irvine pulled Selphie by her arm and walked away with her.

'Funny how a cold person like you would ever need warmth…' Rinoa murmured looking at his shadowed face.

'Well, then I'm sorry to disappoint you, but not everything is what it seems. Isn't it Instructor?' Seifer turned around to face Rinoa.

'I agree, though I wouldn't apply it to you…' Quistis said shortly staring at his back.

'And why would that be? Haven't you seen enough of my _warm_ side?' Seifer turned around with a mocking grin on his face.

'Don't cross the line, Seifer…' Quistis warned him.

Seifer gave an amused shallow laugh.

'Ah-hem…' Rinoa cleared her throat on purpose to try and grab their attention.

'Err…I suppose we should get going once Zell and Squall have already appeared, shouldn't we?' Rinoa said shyly.

'Yes, we should…' Quistis muttered nervously as she left Seifer's side.

After staring at Seifer and Quistis for a silent moment, she awkwardly moved away and walked up to Squall who accompanied Zell towards Irvine and Selphie (who stood next to a tree).

'Huh…the line…as far as I'm concerned there is no line between us. And if there is… I cross it all the time and you don't ever stop me, do you?' Seifer murmured in her ear as he passed by her, after casting _firaga_ on the flesh that laid on the ground, setting it on fire and making it disappear, remaining only ashes in a puddle of water…

Quistis shivered with anger and hatred as she felt his breath touch her ear gently. Clenching her fists as he just walked away carelessly…

'You'll pay for that…' she murmured to herself as she stood there for a few moments staring at the Ragnarok blankly with an angry frown on her face.

Then she turned around slowly and head towards the group and set her eyes on Rinoa who smiling talked sweet words to Squall.

'Rinoa? Could I have a word with you, please?' Quistis said softly as she finally had reached them.

Rinoa looked at Quistis surprised with her unexpected request, then back at Squall as if to say 'I'll be back' and followed Quistis.

'Yes?' Rinoa said as they already had moved a few meters away from Squall who stared at the two girls draw far from him.

'Can you use your powers?' Quistis looked at her as they both stopped facing the Ragnarok.

'Kind of, yes…but why?' Rinoa asked inquisitively.

'Well, in that case, do you think you could you make the Ragnarok invisible?' Quistis asked gently.

Rinoa smiled surprised. She wasn't at all expecting Quistis to ask her to do use her powers and on top of it, trust her…Rinoa was pleased to know Quistis showed trust in her and wanted her to help. Something she hadn't felt for some time, except for the times when squall talked to her openly. But now it wasn't only him. Quistis was showing sympathy for her and she appreciated it. She felt useful, helpful now.

'I can try, yes…of course!' Rinoa smiled enthusiastically not believing that Quistis was asking to do something so important. At least for her it was.

'Could you please then?' Quistis smiled weakly back at her.

'I'll do my best…' Rinoa said now seriously, still smiling surprised.

Quistis then smiled one last time and Rinoa and took a few steps backwards, then returned to the group, leaving Rinoa there, facing the ship, alone.

'What's up, Quisty? Why's she just standing there?' Is she ok?' Zell looked at Rinoa as Quistis leaned against the tree.

Rinoa then raised her arms, leaned her head backwards, made a elegant gesture with her arms as a bright flash of light grew between her arms , she pulled them back slightly and finally jerked them as if to through the light in the ship's direction as she took a step backwards with the impulse. The flash of powerful light flew as fast as a lightning bolt and hit the ship as it started to slowly form a sort of cover of light around it. After wrapping the whole ship in a blinding cover of light, Rinoa narrowed her arms and finally dropped them as the light started to fade away, along with the ship as well. The ship had vanished.

'Geez… what was that!' Zell said aghast.

'It's gone!' Selphie squeaked sadly.

'It's invisible...' Quistis said simply.

'Thank goodness…' Selphie sighed relieved.

'What a lovely trick…' Seifer said sarcastically.

Squall gave Seifer a vicious look. But Seifer didn't notice. He just crossed his arms and grinned as usual.

'It's called sorcery …' Selphie groaned defensively.

'It just ends up being the same bogus in the end…no point in defining it.' Seifer groaned at her mockingly.

Rinoa then turned around slowly after staring at the emptiness in front of her and made her way towards the group as they all burst out in a loud applause and whistling.

Rinoa giggled at their loving reaction and tenderly hung her arm over Squall's neck as he put his arm around her waist discreetly with affection.

'Could you now please guide us, Seifer…' Quistis looked down shyly, as she felt all the hatred and anger knot up in her throat as her fists tightened and sweat dropped from the back of her neck.

Seifer looked back at her seriously and nodded.

'Here, take this…' Quistis reached out her pants pocket a campus and hand it over to Seifer.

Seifer held the little campus in the palm of his hand and stared at her. After noticing the helpful look in her eyes, he spared her from any nastiness and just closed his hand and kept the little campus in his pocket, continuing to stare in her eyes and taking a step forward…

Seifer then walked ahead as the others followed him silently.

Quistis and Rinoa looked at each other in wonder. He could tell the way without any orientation.

They walked into the depths of a forest, where the trees were all white from the snow and little snow flakes would fall gently on their heads.

'It's getting colder…' Selphie said shivering.

'Come here…' Irvine took off one of his coat sleeves and threw it over Selphie's shoulders as he pulled her closer to him.

'Better?' he asked her as he caressed her heart-shaped face.

'Much better…' Selphie smiled as she put her arm around Irvine's waist lovingly.

'You guys don't know how weird you look!' chuckled Zell from behind them…

'Get a life Zell!' Irvine moaned tonelessly, not looking back.

'Yeah…I will…' Zell went on gaggling.

The comrades went on walking for what seemed hours on end. The snowy forest as beautiful as it was, started to seem endless, which made the comrades start to wonder whether Seifer was taking them to the right place. Only this thought made them feel highly frustrated and helpless, but they had no other choice but to trust him.

'Quistis, could you please ask him how much far do we have walk?' Selphie moaned.

Quistis walked up to Seifer who walked a few feet ahead and accompanied him.

'Are we still far, Seifer?' Quistis asked timidly.

'That depends on how one sees it…' Seifer said shortly.

'…well then how do you see it?' Quistis asked him.

'…it's my second-home…' He said shortly.

'What do you mean?' Quistis looked at him inquisitively.

'When you're so close to home, you can't be far…' he said.

'I get your point…' Quistis smiled slightly.

'So…do you have many friends here…?' Quistis asked showing empathy.

'I know some people…' he mumbled.

'Did you actually live here?' she asked now even more interested.

'I travelled…I didn't live anywhere.' He answered briefly.

'But you do have a special connection with Ganahir, don't you?' Quistis went on inquisitively.

'Why are you so interested in knowing my past, Trepe?' He spat out irritably.

'It's not you I'm interested in, it's your connection with this tribe I want to know about…' Quistis grumbled.

'Nice way to cover up your curiosity…but I'm not fooled that easily. Face it, Trepe, you desperately want to know as much as you can about me…it's stronger than you, isn't it?' he muttered looking at her with a grin on his face.

Quistis's blood started to boil with fury again. He was starting with his stupid talk-talk of her not being able to resist him. How pathetic, she thought.

'Well maybe I do…Shouldn't I want to know you better?' she tried to contain herself.

'I'm surprised you finally decided to admit your weakness…' he bragged.

'Yes my weakness…my pathetic weakness of thinking that one day I'll ever have a serious conversation with you…get a grip, Seifer…' Quistis lost her patience and abandoned his side.

Seifer just grinned proudly.

'Pathetic looser…' she hissed under her breath…

And Quistis never dared to approach Seifer again for the next hours. The arrival to the town of Ganahir seemed to be days away…It was ice-cold and the comrades, although the exercise they were doing by walking, they went on shivering with cold.

Squall had given Rinoa his jacket and had put his arm around her shoulder, protecting her from the icy air of the forest.

Rinoa tried her best to move her legs, but she felt so weak and could hardly breathe due to her accumulated tiredness. She started seeing things double and not feeling too good in her stomach. The cold didn't help either, but she wanted to go on, she wanted to be strong and make it just like the others.

'hm…' Rinoa's brain blanked out and her legs tricked her into falling, but before her body could even touch the ground, Squall had grabbed her by her waist and held her tightly in his arms. Rinoa had fainted in Squall's arms.

'Rin?' Squall whispered as he held her limp body in his arms.

'…' he picked her up and caressed her pretty pale heart-shaped face with his finger as the other comrades stopped to look.

'Is she gonna be ok?' Selphie said worriedly.

'I dunno…she's looks exhausted… and very weak.' Squall said a little puzzled.

'Err…maybe we should take a break. Light a fire or something…before anyone else collapses.' Irvine muttered worriedly.

'You're right, I think the cold isn't helping at all…we should light a fire…' Quistis said agreeing with Irvine.

'Zell, could you please go find some wood?' Quistis asked.

'Yes, ma'am!' Zell marched off in to the bushes and started collecting branches and twigs.

'Come, Squall…let's take her there to those rocks. We can set the fire there. Come…' She muttered as she pulled Squall gently by his arm, who carried Rinoa.

Squall sat down on one of the rocks and held Rinoa in his lap as he brushed her raven-black hair out of her face. Quistis cast Firaga on the snowy ground making the ice melt away and evaporate.

'Is this enough!' Zell muffled as he carried a huge bunch of twigs and branches.

'Yeah, more than enough…put some here, quick…' Quistis muttered.

'_Firaga!_' she made a lively fire, bursting into flames and consuming the wood.

Squall got up and brought Rinoa closer to the fire as he sat nearer to the flames.

'You'll be fine…' Squall murmured under his breath as he cuddled his nose into her neck and kissed her tenderly as he saw Quistis go with Zell deeper into the woods.

'We've got just what she needs…' said Irvine who appeared from some near bushes with Selphie.

'It's a highly nutritious plant, full of fructose and… some other stuff I can't spell very well.' Selphie said eagerly as she grabbed the plant from out of his hand and sat down next to Squall and the fire.

'Seifer's the one who collected it, but don't worry…Quistis said its safe…she's collecting some more for the trip…' she smiled reassuringly.

'It's best not to give her that…' Squall said looking at Rinoa with a worried frown.

'Its fine…Quistis said it's good. It will only help…here…' Selphie handed the little plant over to Squall who looked decisively at her. He accepted the plant slowly, looking at it suspiciously and biting off some of it and chewing it slowly.

'Are you dead yet?' Selphie asked him with a grin.

'Potassium…' he murmured at her.

'Good isn't it?' she smiled.

'I think it'll help.' Squall murmured as he held Rinoa's head gently, pulled her mouth open carefully, squeezed the little plant with his fingers and le the little drops of juice fall in her mouth.

Seifer then appeared with his fox skin over his shoulders and with a handful of the same type of plant, he chewed…

Then Laguna appeared from of nowhere and sat on a log near the fire.

'Laguna! We were looking for you all over!...Where were you?' Quistis appeared out of the darkened forest with Zell.

'Oh, I was just hanging around…' he got up surprised and then smiled.

'Laguna, dude…. your fly's open.' Zell pat Laguna on his shoulder friendly.

'Oh…I guess I did a little more than hanging around then…sorry guys I had to go…' he quickly zipped it.

'Ok, ok, ok! Spare me the details…' Quistis groaned as she sat down next to Irvine and Selphie.

They had all settled around the fire and already had eaten each a little of the plant, giving them extra strength to go on with the trip.

Seifer sat on one of the rocks as he rested his elbows on his knees and Zell sat on log next to Quistis and Squall who held Rinoa carefully in his lap. Irvine sat on another rock with Selphie on his lap, who rested her head on his shoulder and played with his long hair. Laguna sat on treeless route as he stretched his hands towards the fire and gazed at the lively flames, lost in thought.

Everyone was silent, just enjoying the warm light from the fire shine upon their skin as the night extended longer than usual and the owls cried from the bushes and bats roamed around homeless in the sky.

'We should go, it's getting late…soon the sun will rise.' muttered Squall as he lifted his head up and glared at the fire.

Laguna raised his head to look at him and glared silently for a moment.

Squall held Rinoa under her arms, put her gently, sitting next to him on the log, took both of her arms and from the back held them over his shoulders as he got up, got hold of her legs and carried her on his back.

The other comrades just lifted up silently as they stared at him.

'This way…' Seifer groaned as he lifted up and walked away from them without even looking at them.

Selphie looked at Irvine with an odd face.

'Very well' Quistis murmured too herself as she exhaled slowly.

Everyone followed Seifer who suddenly had started to walk at a faster pace, making it hard for them to keep up with him.

'Why are you speeding up?' Quistis asked Seifer.

'I have my reasons…' Seifer grunted.

'Could I know what they are?' Quistis said with a slight tone of frustration in her voice.

'I believe that you should know the answer to that, since you're an Instructor…' he groaned sarcastically.

'I know we are to be there before sunrise, but I wasn't aware that you cared.' Quistis answered back.

'And I don't. '

'But then –'

'I'm surprised by your ignorance, Trepe…'

'What is your problem, Seifer!' Quistis lost her patience.

'I don't have time for this…' he groaned back

'What is happening! Tell me, Seifer!' Quistis yelled at him as she grabbed his arm and forced him to stop.

Seifer stopped, turned his head around slowly and looked at her seriously.

Quistis stared back at him.

'Why are we stopping!' asked Selphie as she walked up to where Quistis and Seifer were, but they both just remained silent, staring steadily into each other's faces. It was like they competed to see who could stare for longer, and Seifer knew she wouldn't be able to for very long, so he used it as a way of showing her, that if she couldn't stare into his eyes, he would not tell her.

Quistis as predicted by him, dropped her eyes from his cold eyes and as cold shiver went up her spine, she looked down…

'Fine, don't tell me…but I'm trusting you, just remember that. Don't let me down…' she murmured so softly so only he could hear.

Seifer's momentary grin faded away and stared at her with a mixture of surprise and doubt on his face. What she said, affected him somehow. Those words weren't just any words…

He swerved his look silently from her and continued his way.

And for what seemed the next hour, Seifer hurriedly guided them through the darkened snowy forest, as all they could hear were their footsteps thump in the snow and each other exhale tiredly from all the walking, while Squall carried the petit girl on his back.

Suddenly out of nowhere, sounded a horn. This made the comrades stop abruptly and look around in wonder, preparing themselves to face whatever was coming along…

Seifer turned around quickly, grabbed Quistis by her wrist and pushed her into the nearest bushes.

'Hide, you fools!' he groaned as he threw himself into the bushes he had thrown Quistis in.

'Quick guys!' Laguna said anxiously as he took hold of Selphie's and Irvine's arm and leaded them into the bushes.

Squall was the last one to hide; he took some steps backwards and silently with Rinoa on his back disappeared into some bushes as the moonlight abandoned his face and he was left in complete darkness.

The only thing they heard next were the approaching of synchronized deafening footsteps. As if a gigantic number of men marched through the path they had been following.

'What's happening!' Quistis whispered almost freaking out in the dark as she heard Seifer's accelerated breathing approach her and to what seemed like, sit down next to where she had fallen.

'It's them…' he gasped.

'Them who?' Quistis cried out frustrated.

Seifer grabbed her head and clapped his hand on her mouth abruptly.

'Keep quiet!' he groaned irritated.

Quistis grabbed his hand brusquely and sunk her nails into his skin forcing him to remove his hand.

'Who are they!' she whispered furiously.

'The serpents…' he murmured slowly with a deep irritated voice.

'Sarakman's men?' she asked in shock.

'Yeah…they patrol the forest every five hours...' He muttered.

'We must be close then…' she whispered.

'Not necessarily…' he muttered.

Quistis kept silent as the marching just went on.

Suddenly the marching stopped.

'Why have they stopped!' Quistis whispered worriedly.

'…' He got up and approached the path, trying to see what was happening.

Then Seifer came back in a rush, grabbed Quistis under her arms as he flipped her quickly over his shoulder and ran like lightening deeper into the bushes. This happened so quickly, Quistis didn't even have time to blink. Finally he slowed down, put her down and leaded her by her arm in darkness towards a tree trunk.

'Sit down…' he groaned. Quistis did as he said without meaning to.

Quistis at this point, didn't know what to say. Se knew that if she asked him anything, he'd freak out and that wouldn't be a very good idea, especially in the dark.

'I give up.' Se muttered with a stupefied tone to her voice.

'Now isn't the time.' He said.

'Well, you sound different for who doesn't care about anything. ' Quistis snorted.

'So do you…' he grunted.

'You misunderstood…I meant I give up on-'

'Doesn't make any difference, Trepe…'

'I said I give up on asking you anything about what just happened, Seifer…because I know you won't tell me, or at least you'll try and mess with my mind before you do…' Quistis spat out irritably.

'I'll only mess with your mind if you allow me to…' he answered back.

'There you go again…' Quistis mumbled.

'…they had Honpyocto's sniffing around …giant squids that burn your brains with a toxic gas…' Seifer said unexpectedly.

'Did they smell us?' Quistis asked worriedly.

'I'm not sure…' he muttered as his footsteps approached her and he sat down next to her.

'Damn!' she mumbled.

'You're shivering.' He said with a shallow voice.

'No, I'm not.' she said staring in the direction his voice came from with a surprised frown.

'Yes you are…' he murmured with an entertained grin.

'No I'm not. Besides, how would you know? It's completely dark out here.' She said.

But for what Quistis could hear, he didn't answer back; he just lifted up and walked away.

'Where are you going?' she asked worriedly as she looked around in vain in the darkness.

There were a few moments of silence, when suddenly Quistis felt something touch her back.

'I'm not going anywhere…' he murmured in her ear, making her get the shills up and down her spine as she jumped slightly with fright. He was covering her back with his fox skin, tightening it slightly around her shoulders. The skin was still warm from his body; it was a comforting sensation to feel warm again. But Quistis felt puzzled. Why was he covering her up? What was his intention?

Quistis didn't know what to say. She just felt her heart start to race.

She could now feel Seifer's head rest on her shoulder, making her get even more anxious than she already was. Then she could feel his warm breath touch the skin on her neck as she kept dead still. His hand then grabbed her shoulder as he slowly kissed her on her neck.

Quistis wanted to die. The shivers up and down her spine were ten times worse now and she started getting the goose bumps as she felt his soft warm lips caress her skin gently.

She was ashamed to acknowledge that she was absolutely enjoying it. She had never been touched like that before and now she just couldn't admit that what she wanted was for him to go on. She felt disgusted with herself, but what she was feeling at that very moment was stronger than what she could ever control.

'W-what are you doing…?' she gasped weak and nervously.

Seifer removed his lips from her skin and now just rubbed his nose along her neck, enjoying her scented skin.

'…I don't know…' he murmured exhaling slowly.

'W-Why are you doing this…?' she asked him again with a trembling voice.

'…Must I stop?' he whispered now moving up her neck to her ear, kissing her again.

'Seifer…' Quistis's voice trembled a little more as she felt troubled and puzzled, not knowing how to react.

'Shh…' he whispered in her ear soothingly as he now rubbed his face against hers and grabbed her hand and massaged it.

Quistis closed her eyes slowly as she started to tremble uncontrollably. She had completely lost control and slowly was giving in…She found herself not being able to resist him anymore. It was unavoidable. Before she knew it, her face had involuntarily turned around slowly towards Seifer's as her mouth opened slightly, seeking his warm lips in the darkness…

She finally had found her way to his warm breath, but as their lips scrapped by gently, he pulled away, not allowing her to kiss him on that instant. She insisted once more, but he just gave her a small peck on her top lip to give her a taste, but only for a split of a second. Her desire took more and more over her as she just remained, mouth slightly opened, eyes softly shut , neck stretched, awaiting his lips to find hers and kiss her in that mesmerizing way of his. He enjoyed playing that game of desire with her, but couldn't resist any longer her carmine cherry warm lips begging to be touched. He then gave in to that immense accumulated desire and opening his mouth slowly approached his one millimetres from hers as all they shared was the air that passed out of each others mouths…then as he felt he couldn't wait any longer, he

gently pinched her bottom lip with his lips as she accepted his kiss warmly by pecking him shyly, ending up the most passionate kiss anyone could have ever experienced…

Slowly, she went loosening up as he greedily kissed her she passed from gentle pecks to tenderly caressing his lips with delicious pinches... Seifer loved the way she kissed him and couldn't help wanting to hold her tighter and tighter next to him as things started to heat up...

Although the marvellous kiss, the two of them found them selves in an odd position, which restricted their movements. After a few moments of difficulty in embracing themselves completely in that kiss, Seifer who was crouching next to the fallen tree trunk, Quistis sat on, desperately lifted up, still attached to her and sat down on the trunk next to her, one leg on each side as he went on kissing her, pulling her closer and closer to him each time. Before they knew it, Seifer had his arm around Quistis and possessively held her face in his hand as she leaned herself on him, completely surrendered to him as they both kissed each other passionately.

Quistis had completely given in to his caressing and didn't want that moment to ever end. She didn't quite know what was happening, but she couldn't think straight anyway, she just felt her instinct take complete control over her, not even thinking about the consequences. She was quite sure everything wasn't real…He wasn't the same; she wasn't kissing Seifer Almasy…

The moment their lips touched, Quistis's had just stopped thinking, abandoning every thought and worry, as if all that she had was body and heart...

Her heart raced like never before and her skin screamed for him to touch her, a burning sensation of want grew higher and higher in her veins…

As for Seifer, he wasn't quite sure of what he was doing either, but liked the feeling so much he didn't really care. He was completely irrational…He normally would have only kissed her if she didn't want him to, but right now he just felt as if he couldn't refuse her a kiss, it was completely out of his hands…

His attraction to her was way to strong for his pride right now. This whole situation was completely unpredictable and mind-boggling for both of them. But at this point, their feelings were much stronger than their pride…

_**To be continued…**_

**And that was part 22. Hope you enjoyed it. I had great fun writing this last bit, hope you felt the same way. Thanks MafGoldenHeart for all your support and Squalllll and Angelo di Disirio. I hope you guys go on reading my stuff, for it makes me so happy to know people appreciate it. (sniff…) Anyway, I'm sorry for taking more than two weeks to update, but my life is a bit troubled right now and doesn't really allow me to do what I most love**. **Please review. Thanks for reading, thank you so much! O,**

**PS: I made this chapter nice and long…hope it pleases you. What would you girls do if you saw someone that looked exactly like Squall living near by you? Did anything similar happen to you already? **


	23. Chapter 23

**Part 23: **

Seifer parted abruptly from Quistis's lips.

'Aaaaargh!' Seifer screeched in pain as Quistis felt him throw himself onto the ground.

'Seifer!' Quistis gasped in the dark as she slid off the log worried and crawled looking for him as he just went on screaming and gasping in pain.

But she seemed not be able to find him. She went as fast as she could, hurt her knees even by crawling in the dark over the stones and dry twigs. She could hear him screaming in pain, but couldn't reach him. She didn't know what was going on, for him to react that way, it must've been really serious, and she was now getting worried for she couldn't feel him anywhere…

'Where are you!' she hissed nervously as she now got up on her feet going as fast as she could supporting herself on her hands as she went.

'Ger'out of here!' he winced as he went on gasping in pain.

'Seifer!' she had got hold of his arm.

'What's happening!' Quistis put her hands around his face as she kneeled next to him.

'Trepe go!' he yelled furiously between his teeth as he tried to deal with the pain, by taking deep breaths and ripped her hand off his face brutally.

'What's going on, Seifer! What's wrong with you!' Quistis started to panic as she felt him push her away with his hand.

'Get away! Go! Move! Ger'out of here!' Seifer yelled now louder than ever.

Quistis frightened with his behaviour jerked backwards as she stared into the dark, already gasping and sweating nervously.

But then, without anyone of them expecting, a small bright green light started to grow right in front of her. It started to expand slowly in lines that seemed to be creating some kind of symbol. It didn't stop, the light just went on expanding and now Qusitis could see that light came from Seifer's chest. It just went on making weird symbol patterns in odd shapes like spirals and triangles and other weird shapes.

Quistis's mouth dropped open as her eyes moved around from one spot to another. Just staring at that odd moment, not knowing what to do.

Seifer screeched even louder as he ripped his own clothes of his chest furiously and clenched his hands to his tearing skin as he moved around on the ground helpless and in true pain. The light was coming out of his skin like it was actually cutting trough his skin open as it drew some kind of tattoo.

And when the light had reached the side of Seifer's torso, it drew one more spiral and finally it ended in some ancient writing.

The light shinned brighter now that the image was concluded and now Seifer just moaned and gasped tiredly, as his chest bled.

And as the silence seemed to return, Seifer's whole body was illuminated by a white light, making Quistis strain her eyes as she assisted the whole scene. The light had been blinding for a few seconds, but weakened as Seifer started to calm down.

Quistis then approached him slowly as he seemed to be unconscious.

His chest was all covered in blood, shaped by the lines of the image drawn across his skin. She analyzed the symbols for a few seconds and then gently took his hand and noticed that on his wrist, there was a small black tattoo of two snakes that intertwined each other and formed what seemed like two S's. Then out of nothing, green light glowed in his veins and seemed to be slowly racing in direction of his whole arm towards his chest.

By the time it reached the end of his arm, all the veins in his arm could be seen, shining bright as the light started to invade the veins in his chest, Seifer started to jerk as if he were receiving small electrical shocks.

'No…' Quistis groaned.

'Not his heart!' she moaned as she placed her hands over his chest trying to stop the light from spreading into the veins near his heart. It seemed to work but it would just make the light spread quickly to other areas around her hands.

Quistis clenched her hands tighter trying to avoid that light from invading his body again.

But the light just went on spreading through out his body and when she could already see the green light shine through the end of his pants pipes, she knew it was about to reach his feet…

A few seconds later, his finger tips started to shine brighter as if the light would accumulate there. But before Quistis could even blink, the light raced now ten times faster through his arms and in the direction of his chest…

'Urgh!' Quistis fell over with the impulse.

The racing light had forced its way into Seifer's heart and pushed Quistis to fall backwards.

Quistis approached him again and kneeled next to him as she saw the light greedily take over the left side of his chest.

'No!' Quistis yelled desperately, not knowing what was happening, but knowing it wasn't good…

'Seifer…' she reached her hand out to touch his face, but before she could, Seifer shut his eye tighter and the green light started to reach his neck's veins and slowly up his chin it climbed his face.

Seifer opened his mouth and started to gasp for air as if he were being smothered and desperately clenched his hands to his neck as he struggled for air, piercing his nails through his own skin.

Quistis was so petrified and helpless; she couldn't even move her own muscles. It was like all she could do was assist Seifer die struggling to breathe…

Seifer opened his eyes, turned his neck and looked at her as he went on scratching his own neck and gasping for air as he opened his jaw that seemed to shiver, he looked Quistis in her eyes. All the veins in his body were visible. His eyelids, his lips, his cheeks, the green light would shine through all the veins in his body.

His eyes were half shut and his expression was of terrified fright and worry, but before she could even approach him again, he just stopped struggling and continued glaring into her eyes until he blanked out. His eyes dropped a small tear of blood that ran down his face and his arms dropped down unconsciously…

'Seifer! No!' Quistis jumped and grabbed his face, smacked his face trying to make him come back.

'Come back…' she murmured as tears rolled down her face.

'Come back…come back…' she hiccoughed softly, crying.

'No…' she closed her eyes as she bended down and placed her head on his chest and cried her heart out loudly. His body was cold and he wasn't breathing…but she didn't want to think about it. He couldn't be…

'No…no…no…this is not happening…it must be a dream…' she grizzled as her eyes just leaked uncontrollably. She lifted up to look at him again, cleaned the blood tear off his cheek and kissed his ice lips one last time…

His body still lit up by his illuminated veins now started to shine blinding white, making Quistis cover her face, for the light would hurt her eyes. Then after it weakened, Quistis opened her eyes again and to her horror, Seifer's body started to glow irregularly and started to fade away.

'No… don't go!' she moaned as she held onto his waistcoats torn collar…' Seifer! Don't leave me!' She shook him slightly and leaning on him, she held his head in her arms.

'Rinoa can bring you back...please don't…'Quistis cried now compulsively as she watched Seifer just fade away in her arms.

Eventually, Seifer's body had vanished in what seemed a blinding white flash of light.

'No!' she screamed furiously as all she was left with in her arms were his clothes and a thin black leather string he used to wear around his right wrist. She held it tightly in her hand, threw herself painfully on the icy cold darkened floor and cried with only grief in her heart, so that even the tears would hurt to come out. Seifer had gone away and he would never come back. He was dead…. She didn't want to live anymore. She now wanted whatever took Seifer to take her as well…She couldn't live anymore, it was to painful, even to breathe…

So she just lied there and screamed her pain out until she had no energy left in her, ending up unconscious with all the intense emotion she was put trough, while in the darkened forest it continued to snow and the owls flew around…

The moment Quistis's eyes had shut, she started to feel a strong cold gush of wind blow in her face and a loud sharp piercing sound, making her open her eyes immediately and finding herself in totally different spot…

'Aaaargh!' Quistis turned around to see who was yelling, and saw Seifer on the ground, rolling around in pain as three hooded men surrounded him and watched him suffer. One of them was producing the awful head bursting sound by clenching his teeth together and making louder by moving his jaw, which made Seifer just screech even louder.

Quistis started sweating and panting nervously as she tried to get up and run for Seifer but before she could even get the guy that was torturing Seifer raised his hand in her direction and immediately something grabbed her arms from the back and pulled her tightly against a tree, banging her back brutally. When Seifer was already too weak to even move, they picked him up by his arms, placed a metal chocker around his neck and as they dragged him, he lifted his head up weakly, looked at Quistis in her eyes for the last time with sorrow, trying to say something, but as weak as he was, his eyes shut before he could even spell the first word and his head dropped down unconscious. Seifer was dragged out of her sight into the depths of the forest as all she could do was watch…

'SEIFER!' Quistis yelled desperately for him in fury.

'Nooo! Don't take him!' Quistis cried out loudly.

'No…' she grizzled, shutting her eyes and allowing tears to roll down her face.

But suddenly, she felt what held her tightly to the tree pull her backwards into some kind of whole. It pulled on her brutally, making the roots that covered the whole snap and pulling her in…

Quistis started to scream petrified not knowing what was happening, she didn't want to be berried alive…

She was pulled inside the whole beneath the tree's trunk and when she was totally under the tree, the whole was covered up with more roots, leaving her stuck in that small confined space.

Quistis started panicking…she yelled petrified already feeling claustrophobic, not being able tot move because the roots where still wrapped around her arms and now pulled her tightly to the ground and other roots started to creep up her legs and her neck, not letting her move at all…

She went on screaming and crying not knowing what was about to happen to her, feeling helpless, which made her furious and frustrated.

She ended up loosing all her energy trying to loosen herself and screaming now that she only gasped and panted nervously.

'Just kill me… I don't wanna live anyway…KILL ME!...JUST DO IT!' she yelled furiously already loosing her voice.

But then on the shallow roof of the whole she was in, the wood started to crack in various spots as eventually little green lights would glow within them. Then when the lights were already superficial, they started to carve images on the wood. Quistis recognised this image, though she couldn't remember where she had seen it. Then, the head of two serpents had burst through the two largest spirals. They intertwined each other and formed what looked like, two S's.

'Seifer…' she said under her breath worriedly. Having in response the serpents hiss at her threateningly, which made her heart jump…

'Get away…' she gasped as she watched them make their way down.

The serpents both fell on her, making her scream with fear as they made their way next to her face and started to wrap themselves around her neck…

Quistis didn't move an inch; she was petrified and hardly could breath.

The snakes then hissed in her ears, making her shut her eyes tightly, already expecting the worse. They wouldn't stop; they just went on rattling their tongues in her ear so loudly it would even echo in her head. Quistis's eyes started to tear again as she felt her tense body loosen up and her heart beat slow down. The hissing didn't sound like the snakes anymore, it sounded more like someone whispering in her ears in some kind of weird language. But soon, the language started to sound familiar and Quistis was able to understand what the voice was saying…

'Near is the time when the Lord of Shadow will rise in triumph. His loyal serpents shall hand him the two greatest power sources and sacrifice their own existence. The Lord shall rule the universe for all eternity…The shadow shall break the light…there will only be one ruler…the Lord is about to rise…'

'No!' yelled Quistis opening her eyes rapidly and lifting up.

Quistis panted as she found herself stare into an oval shaped mirror that reflected her own petrified, sweaty, tired self.

She just took sore deep breaths as she felt her lips dry and tried to wet them with her tongue, but even her mouth was dry.

She then realised the place wasn't familiar. The walls, the floor and the roof were all done in some dark wood. With beautiful butterfly and rose sculptures carved on everywhere and familiar inscriptions written along the roof in gold.

The bed she was on was very comfortable and the sheets were very silky and had beautiful images embroidered on them.

In the room besides the king-sized bed she was on, was a huge desk covered in rolls of parchment and a small jar with a lovely yellow rose in it.

Quistis looked around a second time and spotted an arched door, on whose wall were exposed a collection of various weapons and masks, some in steal, others in mahogany and gold.

'Where am I?...' she said under her breath as she stared at herself in the mirror.

Quistis then pulled the sheets of herself and sat on the bed side, touching the wooden floor with her bare feet as a yellow silky cloth fell over them. She then realised she wasn't wearing her own clothes, she stared in the mirror and saw that what she was wearing was a silky yellow long night dress that reached her feet and had a very pretty bow just below her chest with elegant long bell-shaped sleeves.

After observing herself for a few moments in wonder, she got off the bed and stood for a moment on her own feet, took one step…

'Urgh!' she groaned as her knees shook and couldn't support her, making her fall on the wooden floor with a loud thump, making a hollow sound in the floor.

Quistis, worried then froze and listened carefully to make sure she hadn't attracted no one to the room. She then looked out the window covered in snow from the outside and noticed it was already day.

The moment she blinked, she had had a painful back flash…

She saw Seifer immobile on the snowy ground, jerking his body in pain, screeching as through his skin, the green light would cut its way and draw the lines of various symbols and inscriptions, making him bleed uncontrollably...

'Seifer…' she gasped painfully as a tear came rolling down her pale face.

Quistis panting nervously then opened her eyes wide and shook her head as she helped her self up again and made her way towards the door with tears in her eyes, sniffing constantly. When was close enough to the door, she grabbed the handle, turned it and squeaked as she bumped into a person, that grabbed her waist before she could fall.

Quistis was highly nervous, panting and trembling as she looked at the darkened figure hold her.

'Where are you going in such a hurry? Are you ok?' said a hollow whispering voice that pronounced the R's differently, with more emphasise.

'Where am I…?' she gasped still nervous.

'You're in a Mr. Turruco's house…err…Clover Path, 73 Southwest, Ganahir…' he said with a bit of nervousness in his voice as well.

'Ganahir? H-How that I get here? Where are the others? Who are you? What do you want?...let go of me!' she pulled away nervously.

'Hey, hey…don't be scared. I'm not one of the bad guys… I'm just the housekeeper, alright?…I won't hurt you…' he said reassuringly as he touched her shoulder gently, but she jerked.

Quistis just went on breathing really fast and shivering.

'Listen, lady, there's no need to be afraid. You're safe here. If you come with me downstairs, I'll answer all your questions. But before anything else, you've gotta eat something…' he said.

'I'm not hungry…I just want to find my comrades…I need to talk to them…something weird is happening…'she cried.

'I can help you, but first put something warm on…this place is cold…I don't want you getting sick.' he muttered as he walked into the room and started scratching around.

'Here, put this on…' he came back and helped Quistis dress a warm gown on and dropped a pair of slippers at her feet gently.

Quistis put the slippers on slowly, not really understanding what was happening, but cooperating with the guy for being so gentle. She was a little puzzled, not used to having this kind of treatment. But at this point, all she was worried about was Seifer. She didn't know what to think anymore. Her dream was so real and she wasn't sure if what happened before she closed her eyes in the forest, really happened. Her head was in great confusion.

'Come, the kitchen's this way…' he murmured as he gently guided her by pushing her shoulder.

Quistis looked down all the way, hearing Seifer's scream replay over and over in her head, making tears blossom in her eyes.

The guy took her through a narrow darkened corridor, then into a confined closet looking room with a small oval window that leaded down a spiral staircase.

'Careful this step has a whole in it…' he said, taking her hand as he helped her jump over the step and guided her down the staircase.

She could now see the guy clearly. He was a thin, tall guy. He had long dark brown hair until at his shoulders and wore a rather old scraggly black apron around his waist.

The kitchen was quite big, again the walls panelled in wood, as well as the roof and the floor, with wooden built-in cupboards and a marble sink. In the middle of the kitchen, there was a pan and pot rack that hung from the ceiling above a unpolished granite surface supported by four pillars of the same material..

'Sit down…' he pulled a chair for her and head to a tall cupboard that stood on the opposite side. Quistis did as he said and not thinking about anything else around her, she just crossed her arms over the table and rested her head on them, feeling only grief in her heart as she felt more tears come down her face, shivering and sniffing uncontrollably.

The guy just stood back faced to her, preparing something for her to eat, turning his neck around a few times in curiosity to try and get a better glimpse of her…

Quistis then heard the guy's footsteps come in her direction. He pulled a chair for himself and sat down next to her as he placed a plate on the table and a glass.

'Thanks…but I'm sorry…I can't eat right now…now you said you'd tell me everything you know…please go on…' Quistis mumbled sadly, still resting her head over her arms.

'But before anything else…once sip and one bite…please lady…it would be much of a shame if you passed out of hunger in this house…' he muttered gently.

Quistis turned her neck to look at him as in a "who do you think you are?" way…

The guy stared at her seriously. Quistis the was able to see what he really looked like, now that he was face to face with her. He was good-looking, though very unusual. Probably a little older than her, with the gentlest eyes she had ever seen, of the colour of amber. He had dark brown hair with golden streaks in the front and wore it long until his shoulders. He had a dark blond beard and a well-shaped moustache that hid small yet enchanting pale pink lips.

'Fine…'she sighed impatiently, lifting her head up, taking the glass slowly and taking a small sip of strawberry juice and taking shortly afterwards a small bite out of the delicious chocolate cake. Quistis then tilted her hand, expecting him to start.

'Good…' he smiled as his eyes wrinkled slightly. He had a gorgeous white smile.

'Ok then, what do you want to know?' he kept a small friendly grin on his face.

'First of all, how did I get here?' she said seriously.

'Well, Irik my pet, she's been missing since last night, so I went out and looked for her in the forest and that's when I found you. You were lying next to someone's clothes and…(he reached for his apron pocket and took out a thin black leather string) you had this in your hand…'

Quistis reached her hand slowly and took the string from the boy with a heart broken expression on her face.

'…so it was real…it wasn't a dream…' her voice trembled as tea blossomed in her eye.

'What wasn't a dream, lady?' he murmured looking at her worriedly.

'I'm sorry…could you please go on?' she muttered shyly, whipping the tear away.

'Oh, yeah…um…well, after finding you, I couldn't leave you there so I took you home with me…'he said shyly.

'Thanks…' Quistis sniffed.

'Didn't you perhaps walk into anyone else? A group of six people…three young men, one adult man and two girls?' Quistis asked him anxiously.

'No…I didn't see anyone else besides you…' he answered softly.

'They must be looking for me… and Seifer…' Quistis looked down sadly, whipping her eyes again.

'I have to look for them…' she got up from her chair rapidly and headed to the exit kitchen door.

But as she was about to reach the handle, the guy stepped in front of her and blocked the door and leaned against it.

'What do you think you doing?' Quistis said seriously.

'I can't let you go out…' he said simply, smiling nervously.

'Don't play with me! I'm not who you think I am…I have important things to do here and I need to find my comrades right away! I don't have time for this! Please move!' Quistis raised her voice slightly, feeling anxious.

'Either way, I can't let you go. You hardly can move on your own feet and it's freezing out there!...' he raised his hollow voice as well.

'I'm fine thank you very much and it won't be the weather that'll take me down, ok? Now I appreciate your concern, but please move out the way…I've really got to go…' Quistis sighed.

'You'll freeze in those clothes…besides; I can tell when someone isn't well. And you're aren't. Anyway, there are armed men marching up and down these streets and if they see anyone suspect…believe me, it's not a good idea…' the guy explained almost begging her to cooperate.

Quistis sighed impatiently.

'But I have to!' Quistis raised her voice anxiously.

'Lady, this could go on all day…I'm telling you, from experience, you do not want to be seen.'

'Then what do you suggest?' she asked.

'Let's wait…it gets dark at six, then we can creep into the forest and look for your friends.' He said.

'"we"?' Quistis frowned.

'Yeah, you and I…What? You didn't think I'd let you go out on your own, did you?' he said seriously.

'I don't need you to come with me, I'll be fine on my own…' she snapped proudly, rolling her eyes.

'Listen lady, if you want to go out at all, I must go with you. There's no way you going on your own, it's too dangerous out there and I know this place like the back o my hand…I won't interfere with your plans, I'll just accompany you, I promise.' He said.

'Whatever…' she grumbled turning around and walking up the stairs.

'Hey! Lady be careful with the…'

'Argh!' Quistis squeaked.

'…broken step!' said the guy frustrated as he ran after her.

When Quistis had vanished with Seifer, Laguna, Squall, Zell, Rinoa, Irvine and Selphie had decided to go look for them, but ended leading themselves into the town.

By the time they arrived into Ganahir, the sun had started to rise, making it important that they found a place to stay before it was day.

They had been creeping about in the streets watched by guards, when Selphie had fallen through a broken window, while peeping into a basement, ending up on a couch, thankfully. And when Irvine tried to pull her out, Squall had noticed that the basement looked abandoned for years and from there decided to use it as a hiding place and shelter.

Meanwhile, Rinoa had already woken up to Squall's relief , spending the whole morning, speaking to Headmaster Cid and crossing out areas they'd already searched for Quistis and Seifer, while Zell went on trying to reach Quistis on her IC and ear phone. But Quistis wouldn't answer.

'I don't care what happens to Seifer, as long as Quisty's alright…that bully deserves something nasty happen to him!' Selphie grumbled as she sat on the couch she had fallen to earlier on.

'Let's keep trying. We can't give up until we find them…her, to be honest if he got lost, it would be quite an achievement…' said Laguna.

'Laguna! Don't speak like that! He's one of us…I know he can be rotten at times, but he's still part of this group! Seifer can change; I truly believe he can be a good person, if he wants…' Rinoa's smiled.

Laguna shrugged his shoulders.

'He'll probably love you to try and change him…that is if he wants to be a good person…' Squall mumbled as he crossed out one area on the map.

'…sorry! I don't think I heard well?' Rinoa turned around to face Squall, but he kept faced down to the map.

'Dudes, is it me or Squall's hair is turning green!' Zell asked everyone, making everyone giggle.

'Stuff it Zell.' Squall said coolly.

'Whoa!' Zell raised his hands with a grin on his face.

'Seifer is human just like anyone else here, Squall. I think everyone needs a second chance. And to be honest, I think he could do with one, I don't think we've been to nice to him lately…' Rinoa's lip curled.

'Yeah, he is just the person that wanted to hand you in and get you killed; just to be in someone else's favour, which happened to be Sorceress Ultemecia and friends. He genuinely deserves a second chance…C'mon Rinoa we all know he always had bad intentions and probably has right now. He can't be trusted, he'll kill you if he wants to, he has no respect or honour. He doesn't care about anyone but himself… ' Squall said sarcastically and giving her an extremely hurtful look.

'Then why do you think he accepted to guide us here?' Rinoa gave him a challenging look.

'And why do you think he just disappeared with Quistis?' Squall tried to reason with her.

'I don't know…' Rinoa gave him a side look.

'…but we don't know what happened…they could be in trouble or hurt…' Rinoa crossed her arms worriedly.

'But it also could've happened for some other reason…we can't be sure of anything. And he's not exactly trust wordy…' he said lifting up and placing the map on an old coffee table.

Squall went up to her and pulled her gently by her arm to come with him, leading her to a large dusty glass door that opened onto a balcony, where the sun shinned brightly through and lit up the whole lounge. He opened the door and stepped on the balcony as he held her hand.

'I'd like to believe that Seifer has changed, Squall, and what you said is true, he hasn't been trust wordy, but he accepted to help us. Don't you think that means something?' Rinoa looked into Squall's eyes seeking his understanding.

'It would be quite a thing if it meant, but I've learned not to trust him a long time ago…I can't just start thinking his ok now, because I want to…besides, Seifer and I have been each others rival since… we were kids. He has done things I can't forgive him for; that's why I'd never give him a second chance…I can't help it and I'm not the only one, he brought it on himself. I wouldn't be surprised if it pleased him to have everyone hating him… 'Squall explained gently as he looked away into the distance that revealed a lake.

'How do you think he feels to have everyone dislike him? It shouldn't be nice to be lonely…' Rinoa hung her arms around his neck she rested her chin on his shoulder.

'I'd guess it makes him feel feared and…powerful…I don't know if he's as lonely as he seems…' Squall muttered.

'There you go again…you are so suspicious!' Rinoa chuckled.

'Believe me, Rin, I have reasons to. I have a bad feeling about his link to this place. That whole story is still very unclear to me…'

In response Rinoa pecked him on his cheek.

'Oh, shucks! Keep still, lady…I'll get you out of there in a sec…' said the guy as he walked up the first few steps and found Quistis holding tightly onto the railing with her leg stuck in the whole in the step.

'Great! This is just the last thing I need…!' Quistis moaned as she pulled her night dress out of the whole impatiently.

'Will you just help me?' Quistis said anxiously.

The guy took Quistis under her arms and lifted her effortlessly and put her down again on the good steps.

'I've gotta fix that…' he muttered.

'Oh yes you do…' Quistis said sarcastically.

'Your leg is hurt.' The guy said as he swung himself over the broken step, supporting himself on railing and bent down to look at her leg.

'What are you doing?' she snapped as he took her arm and flipped it over his neck and picked her up and walked down the stairs.

He took her through the kitchen into the lounge. The lounge was medium sized and had a big fireplace in front of a rather scruffy old blue couch, where he rested her.

He then walked out of the lounge.

'Oh…what have I got myself into?…I shouldn't even be here...' she murmured to herself.

The guy walked in the lounge with a wooden box under his arm and kneeled next to the couch.

'Let's see…Woo, that looks painful…' murmured the guy as he held her foot in his hand and observed the nasty scratch she had on her leg.

'It's not serious, though…' he smiled at her, looking back at her leg and opening the box, taking out a white bottle of liquid and poured some on a piece of cotton wool.

'It's gonna burn…' he looked at her worriedly.

'Oh, fine just get over with it. I'm not a child anymore, I can take a little pain…' she mumbled leaning against the couch impatiently.

'Are you ready? 1…2…….3!' he said as he placed the cotton wool on her sore.

Quistis jumped with the burning sensation as her mouth opened in agony, trying to put up with it.

'Take it off!' she gasped furiously.

'It is!' he said nervously.

'Blow!' she squeaked anxiously.

The guy never hesitated and started blowing furiously, taking the burning sensation away.

'Oh, thanks…' she panted, smiling thankfully.

'You can take a little pain, huh?' he smiled charmingly.

'Don't laugh, that's stuff you've got there is awfully strong! It could knock out anyone who sniffed it! I can smell it from here…it even burns my nostrils!' she complained.

'Get it away from your face! For all you know you're killing brain cells!' she said.

'It doesn't affect me, I'm already used to it.'

'What is it!' Quistis said with nauseated frown on her face.

'Ah, it's a concentrated mix of disinfectant plants and a bit of alcohol. My sister is really into homeopathy. She makes our own remedies and antidotes.'

'That's interesting. Is there any special reason for her to have started with it?' Quistis asked gently.

'Actually, yeah, she started out when we were kids, our mother used do the same. She used to know the name of all the plants imaginable and their use. She passed most of her knowledge onto my sister. Now we make a living out of it. She makes medicine and I bake cakes.' He smiled gently as he started to wrap a bandage around her injured leg.

'Oh, that's why you said it would be a shame if I died of hunger in this house.' Quistis smiled back at him.

He nodded.

'So, is this where you live?' Quistis asked.

'Yeah, basically. It's not actually our house, it belongs to Mr. Turruco, but he has gone missing since this whole situation started. So I haven't really paid the rent…' he smiled mischievously.

'I see…' Quistis smiled back at him.

'And where's your sister?'

'Oh, she's out. She went to the forest to fill our pantry. We're low on a few plants. She should be back by four.'

'How about you, lady? Where do you come from?' he sat on the couch after giving a last knot to the bandage.

'I probably shouldn't tell you, but you seem trust wordy. I come from Balamb. Balamb Garden to be more precise.' Quistis explained.

'So, you're part of the group that has come to help evacuate the evil force?' he smiled delighted.

'Yes, and hopefully I'll be able to find the group before anything bad happens…'

'You're a SeeD?' he asked.

'Yes. And I'm an Instructor too.' She smiled.

'Wow, I'd never tell…' he grinned.

'How come?' she asked.

'Being a lady like yourself, I would have never guessed you were a professional mercenary.' He smiled charmingly.

'Why not?'

'Oh, I don't know, lady…your structure perhaps, rather small and delicate…' he explained himself.

'Delicate, me? Huh! I wouldn't say so, I've been a real tom-boy since I was small and no one's ever called me delicate!' Quistis chuckled.

'By the way, my name's Quistis, Quistis Trepe.' She reached her hand to shake his.

'That's a fine name you've got there.' He kissed her hand, gentleman like.

'And you are?' she smiled, amazed at his forgetfulness.

'Oh! I'm sorry, you can call me Ash. Sorry for not introducing myself, with all the agitation, I forgot completely. It's nice to meet you Instructor Quistis Trepe.' He smiled reaching his hand out to shake hers now.

'Nice to meet you, Ash. Oh! But one thing, call me Quistis, just drop "Lady" and "Instructor". They don't quite suit me.' Quistis smiled gently, shaking his hand.

And before they knew it, an uncomfortable silence had fallen between them.

'Would you like to finish your chocolate cake?' he asked her seriously.

'Sure.' She nodded shyly as she watched him get up.

The both of them then sat in the lounge, eating chocolate cake and drinking strawberry juice as he sat on the floor near the fireplace and she sat on the couch, while the fire in the fireplace burnt and crackled happily and Ash's and Quistis's eyes met now and then in a blushed moment.

**To be continued…**

**And that was part 23! Hope you liked, yeah, 'cause I've really tried hard to guide things properly. What did you think? Please tell me, I can't wait to know what you think. Please review and thanks for reading everyone, thank you so much!**

**Hope you enjoyed it, love to everyone. **

PS: Guess what! I appeared on the radio! I know this sounds lame, but I woke up this morning and just phoned the radio station to participate in this competition and I ended up loosing, but who cares! I spoke to my radio idols (Diogo Beja and Miguel Peixoto! I luv you! – Best Rock Fm) Yay! I'm still in shock! LOL

Part 24:

When the both of them had finished their chocolate cake, Ash got up from the floor and took Quistis's plate and cup, walking back into the kitchen and leaving her to herself.

'What a weirdo…' she said under her breath.

Quistis then, feeling silly to sit on the couch like she needed help to go anywhere, she got up slowly and made her way slowly into the kitchen, passing by Ash who was too busy washing dishes to notice her.

Quistis then too tired to move any further sat on the chair she had been sitting on earlier.

When Ash finally dried his hands, he turned around and faced her with a surprised look on his face, he approached her. She was leaning her head on her hand.

Is anything troubling you?' he asked gently as he pulled a chair and sat down next to her.

And as Quistis heard these words, a vision of Seifer's face frowning in awful pain pierced it's way through her mind again and immediately brought tears to her burning eyes.

'Heey…what are the tears for…?' he gently touched her arm comfortingly.

'These aren't tears…' Quistis sobbed with a stupefied chuckle.

'They aren't? then what are they? he asked.

Quistis didn't answer…she just hid her face with her hands.

'Quistis…is there anything you want to talk about?' he asked her still rubbing her arm.

'Does it have anything to do with what happened out there?' he asked.

Quistis gasped painfully as she just nodded her head, still covering her face.

'His dead…' she sobbed and hiccoughed sadly.

'Dead? Who is dead?' he asked her.

'Seifer…' she murmured in a small gasp.

'Seifer!...' he asked in disbelief.

'Seifer Almasy?' he asked.

Quistis then removed her hand of her face to look at him.

'You knew him?'

'No, I know him. And if it's that that is troubling you., Quistis…Don't be troubled. I can assure you he's not dead.' Ash said confidently with a grin on his face.

'But he just stopped breathing and then he disappeared…How can you be so sure that…' she cried softly, tears still rolling down her face.

'I grew up with him, we've known each other since I can remember and I know for sure, that he can't be dead…' Ash gazed out of the window as he spoke with a thoughtful look on his face.

'Ash…if you trying to make me feel better, it's no use…' she muttered softly as she wiped her eyes.

'Trust me Quistis, he is not dead. I know it, I'm sure. It couldn't happen now…the timing would be wrong and it would destroy all the chances of…believe me, where ever he is, he's alive and kicking…' Ash took her hands as he said the last words, giving her a reassuring look.

'I don't understand, Ash…you speak as if you know more than I, as if you know more than anyone... You know where he is, don't you? Ash, for Hyne's sake, take me to him…' she muttered worriedly, furrowing her brow in wonder as she tried to read what went on his mind.

Ash lowered his head.

'Please, Ash. This is very important to me…If there's anything you know about what's happening, please tell me…I need to know. I'm here to fight Sarakman, to help your people and avoid him from taking over…tell me what you know…please. I need to get Seifer back…' she tugged his arm gently as she looked him in the eyes, pleadingly.

'I won't lie to you Quistis. I do know more than I should, but believe me, it's not something I'm proud of…it's a burden, a great responsibility that I and Seifer have been carrying for some time now…and I can't reveal anything, at least for the meantime …I'm sorry…please don't insist.' Ash looked her in the eye furrowing his brow deeply with concern.

'But, I can help. I want to help you and your friends defeat Sarakman…'he gave her an honest look and somehow he seemed to be a bit emotional, as if helping really placed a great importance to him.

'Ash… I don't know how involved you are in this whole situation, but…I don't think it would be rational if I...' she muttered…'Quistis, there's no time to be rational…you've just got to trust me… and tonight…we must act. Time is scarce…the more we delay, the less chances we have of regaining what's ours…please.' Ash's eyes widened with anxiousness and worry as he tried to talk sense into her. He was technically begging her to trust him.

'Quistis, I can lead you to him. You and your friends. But you've got to trust me first…there's no other way…' Ash's eyes radiated his worry and his desperation to help her.

Quistis just stared back at him, not understanding why it was so important for him to have her trust him. But his eyes said it all, he was willing to help, his intentions were good. She could see he was also being affected by Seifer' appearance and wanted desperately the freedom of his home.

'…I trust you, Ash. I'm counting on you to take me to Seifer. I want you to help us win this battle against Sarakman...'

'Thank you…' he smiled relieved.

'

ead to the staircase, but just as she put her hand on the rail, Ash dried his hands and turned around, looking strait at her.

'Where're you going!' he asked in surprise walking up to her, furrowing his brows.

'I'm going to put my clothes on…' she snapped proudly.

'Oh, your clothes, I've washed them for you…' he looked puzzled, walking quickly over to a cupboard under the stairs and bringing out her cleaned folded clothes, passing it to her gently as he bowed down shyly.

'…thanks' she muttered shyly as she took the first step up.

'Can I help you?' he said.

'It's ok. I believe I can make it on my own.' She said with a struggling voice as she pulled herself up the stairs.

'Ok.' He accepted a little surprised at her pride.

So Ash retreated and sat on the cupboard and watched her, silently.

Quistis was having real trouble trying to climb up the stairs, but things got harder when she reached the broken step. She had to put her hands on the upper step to the broken one and pulled herself up with some trouble.

Ash would just roll his eyes as he heard her struggle, not daring to ask for help.

'Ouch!...' she moaned.

This made Ash run up the stairs and pick her up, taking her up the last few steps.

'Hey!' she moaned.

'If you need anything just yell…' he turned around and walked down the stairs again.

'Hey!...Ash, I can make it on my own!…Let go!' she raised her voice irritated.

'I'm just helping you


	24. Chapter 24

Part 24:

When the both of them had finished their chocolate cake, Ash got up from the floor and took Quistis's plate and cup, walking back into the kitchen and leaving her to herself.

'What a weirdo…' she said under her breath.

Quistis then, feeling silly to sit on the couch like she needed help to go anywhere, she got up slowly and made her way slowly into the kitchen, passing by Ash who was too busy washing dishes to notice her.

Quistis then too tired to move any further sat on the chair she had been sitting on earlier.

When Ash finally dried his hands, he turned around and faced her with a surprised look on his face, he approached her. She was leaning her head on her hand.

Is anything troubling you?' he asked gently as he pulled a chair and sat down next to her.

And as Quistis heard these words, a vision of Seifer's face frowning in awful pain pierced it's way through her mind again and immediately brought tears to her burning eyes.

'Heey…what are the tears for…?' he gently touched her arm comfortingly.

'These aren't tears…' Quistis sobbed with a stupefied chuckle.

'They aren't? then what are they? he asked.

Quistis didn't answer…she just hid her face with her hands.

'Quistis…is there anything you want to talk about?' he asked her still rubbing her arm.

'Does it have anything to do with what happened out there?' he asked.

Quistis gasped painfully as she just nodded her head, still covering her face.

'His dead…' she sobbed and hiccoughed sadly.

'Dead? Who is dead?' he asked her.

'Seifer…' she murmured in a small gasp.

'Seifer!...' he asked in disbelief.

'Seifer Almasy?' he asked.

Quistis then removed her hand of her face to look at him.

'You knew him?'

'No, I know him. And if it's that that is troubling you., Quistis…Don't be troubled. I can assure you he's not dead.' Ash said confidently with a grin on his face.

'But he just stopped breathing and then he disappeared…How can you be so sure that…' she cried softly, tears still rolling down her face.

'I grew up with him, we've known each other since I can remember and I know for sure, that he can't be dead…' Ash gazed out of the window as he spoke with a thoughtful look on his face.

'Ash…if you trying to make me feel better, it's no use…' she muttered softly as she wiped her eyes.

'Trust me Quistis, he is not dead. I know it, I'm sure. It couldn't happen now…the timing would be wrong and it would destroy all the chances of…believe me, where ever he is, he's alive and kicking…' Ash took her hands as he said the last words, giving her a reassuring look.

'I don't understand, Ash…you speak as if you know more than I, as if you know more than anyone... You know where he is, don't you? Ash, for Hyne's sake, take me to him…' she muttered worriedly, furrowing her brow in wonder as she tried to read what went on his mind.

Ash lowered his head.

'Please, Ash. This is very important to me…If there's anything you know about what's happening, please tell me…I need to know. I'm here to fight Sarakman, to help your people and avoid him from taking over…tell me what you know…please. I need to get Seifer back…' she tugged his arm gently as she looked him in the eyes, pleadingly.

'I won't lie to you Quistis. I do know more than I should, but believe me, it's not something I'm proud of…it's a burden, a great responsibility that I and Seifer have been carrying for some time now…and I can't reveal anything, at least for the meantime …I'm sorry…please don't insist.' Ash looked her in the eye furrowing his brow deeply with concern.

'But, I can help. I want to help you and your friends defeat Sarakman…'he gave her an honest look and somehow he seemed to be a bit emotional, as if helping really placed a great importance to him.

'Ash… I don't know how involved you are in this whole situation, but…I don't think it would be rational if I...' she muttered…'Quistis, there's no time to be rational…you've just got to trust me… and tonight…we must act. Time is scarce…the more we delay, the less chances we have of regaining what's ours…please.' Ash's eyes widened with anxiousness and worry as he tried to talk sense into her. He was technically begging her to trust him.

'Quistis, I can lead you to him. You and your friends. But you've got to trust me first…there's no other way…' Ash's eyes radiated his worry and his desperation to help her.

Quistis just stared back at him, not understanding why it was so important for him to have her trust him. But his eyes said it all, he was willing to help, his intentions were good. She could see he was also being affected by Seifer' appearance and wanted desperately the freedom of his home.

'…I trust you, Ash. I'm counting on you to take me to Seifer. I want you to help us win this battle against Sarakman...'

'Thank you…' he smiled relieved.

They both then fell silent. She would blush as he looked at her in her eyes and when he finally got the message, he cleared his throat and turned in his chair, scratching the table cloth shyly as he leaned his head on his hand.

He was very cute. His sweet, calm attitude combined with his shaggy brown hair and his amber eyes made him very interesting, but of course, there was no time for such thoughts.

Quistis could only think of Seifer right now. He was alive and she knew that wherever he was, he wasn't well, at least not well accompanied. And to this thought, her heart would ache. Despite Seifer being a nasty person to her since she could remember, she knew he had changed. She felt he was different, but right on the moment when her idea about him was about to change, he had disappeared into thin air as if he had died. Quistis's heart broke when he left her, but now Ash had given hope to her. He promised her that Seifer was alive, but not if he was ok. She then couldn't tell what was best, him suffering or actually dying.

She would do what ever she could, risking her life if she had to bring him back. It was what she wanted the most.

'You better get dressed…' he muttered lifting up slowly from the table as he kept his peaceful eyes on her.

'Um…yeah I suppose…' Quistis pulled her hair behind her ears with her fingers.

'Err…can I?' he asked gently.

'Hm? Can you what?' she looked at him.

'Can I take you upstairs?' he asked her with a small friendly smile under his blond beard.

'Oh! Um…yes, well, if you don't mind…I wouldn't want to fall again…' she chuckled nervously.

As Ash slowly bent down, he tugged Quistis gently by her arm and put it around his neck as he got hold of her legs and slowly, but effortlessly raised her in his arms.

'I've washed your clothes for you. I hope you don't mind…' he murmured as he walked up the stairs.

'Oh, thanks…I wasn't expecting that,…you're a really good host…' Quistis smiled gently as their eyes met once again and blushed

'Thanks…' he murmured looking down shyly and then looking up at her slowy

But Quistis's eyes swerved away immediately as she gave a small smile.

As Ash walked down the narrow darkened corridor with her in her arms, Quistis suddenly remembered something highly embarrassing.

'Ash! she said worriedly.

'Hm…' he murmured calmly.

'I'm not wearing my own clothes…' she said a little stupefied.

'I thought you knew that…' he murmured puzzled.

'Yeah, I did, but …'

'Oh, don't worry their my sister's…she won't mind…she loves sharing. I bet she'd rather have a sister than me…' he chuckled slightly.

And now he walked into the dimly lit room with her.

'Ash, who undressed me!' Quistis panicked.

'Oh…' he stopped abruptly with a slightly uncomfortable expression on his face and looked her in her eyes with some shock.

'It was your sister, right?…' Quistis looked him in the eyes warningly.

'…'course it was! Who do you think I am!' he gaggled nervously putting her on the bed as he took a few steps backwards…

'I don't know…That's why I'm asking….' Quistis muttered simply.

'Yeah, right…but I didn't… and I would never dare to…you know…just to…you know...' he waved his hands around as he explained nervously.

'Good…' Quistis cut the conversation.

'Thanks for bringing me up, Ash…' Quistis said shyly as she smiled shortly at him, with the intent to send him away.

Quistis then stared at him with the intent that he would notice that she needed him to leave, so she could get dressed.

'Oh, I'm sorry…' he scratched his head nervously as he stumbled his way out of the room and shut the door softly.

CLUMP…'Ouch! Damn it!' she heard him moan outside the door.

She then closed her eyes and exhaled slowly as she heard his footsteps go down the corridor.

'Oh…Hyne…make Seifer be alright…make him be alive and well…please' she covered her face with her hands as she muttered these words worriedly.

Quistis then sighed, lifted up from her bed and reached the desk where the lovely yellow rose stood in a small jar. She then brought her face closer to it and saw that the simple yellow rose had been pulled from its root and not cut off. Its root had a small piece of damp cotton wool on which it would survive.

'This guy really is weird…'she murmured as she frowned at the little flower in wonder.

Then she found her clothes on the heap of parchment roles neatly folded.

'And a nice house-keeper too…'she added as she unfolded the clothes gently.

Quistis then sat back on the bed as she slowly got her self dressed as she stared at the flower with a peculiar frown.

'Could that be the…no, of course not…he wouldn't stupid enough to keep in here near a stranger…but it is rather odd he keeps its root…' she thought to herself.

Once she was dressed, she cast a few cures on herself, making her wounded leg recover completely.

'Much better…' she muttered, giving a last glimpse at the little flower and finally getting up from the bed and walking out of the room.

Squall walked back outside to the balcony as he leaned his elbows on the stone wall covered in creepy- crawlies, staring into the distance as the afternoon sun weakened slowly. The sun hit his face gently, reflecting in his deep blue eyes frowning with impatience.

'I'm standing here, waiting for night to fall while I could have found that bastard long time ago…I can't take this anymore…I came here to fight, not to stand around…' he thought to himself.

Suddenly, Squall heard the balcony's door open softly as he turned his neck around to see who it was. After seeing who it was, he irritably, turned his face back to the sun.

'What now? If he thinks he can start his cheesy father talk with me, he's completely mistaken…I'm getting out of here before he even tries...' Squall turned around and head to the door casually.

Suddenly, Squall felt his arm being tugged tightly, turning around in surprise.

'You don't have to go…' Laguna trough him back towards the stone wall.

'I'm not going to start that talk again…'he muttered, leaning on the stone wall as Squall was doing before.

'I accept that you're not ready to...there I go again…I'll just shut up, before I get on your nerves again…sorry.' Laguna said bleakly, staring into the distance quietly.

And they both spend a few minutes silent, both leaning on the stone balcony, each one on the opposite ends.

'It's almost time…' Laguna said, giving a quick glimpse at Squall who seemed to be far away in thought.

'Don't you try and start your useless conversations with me again…' Squall thought to himself.

'I sure hope we are able to find Sarakman's hiding place before it's too late…' Laguna muttered.

'Good for you…' Squall murmured and walked back inside casually.

'What did I do this time!' Laguna banged his fist on the stone wall furiously.

'I can't say a word, he'll walk away and leave me talking to a wall…'Laguna mumbled.

'I guess Rinoa's right…what he needs is time and space…loads of it…too much actually…exaggeratedly…yeah…humph…' Laguna smirked as he had just had an idea…

'I'm a genius!' he said to himself.

'What! Whoa! Why didn't you tell us before, dude! If only I knew, I'd make you do my homework!' Zell walked out.

'Nah…I'm not a genius at homework…or at anything I do…it's just an idea I had, I'm not even sure if it'll work…but it's worth trying…' Laguna smiled bleakly.

'Whoa…self-esteem levels going down…need back up!... C'mon Laguna, you've gotta believe in yourself! You see! Only then you'll plans will start working out…it's all about confidence, you know?' Zell said waving his hands explicitly as he talked.

'Yeah, I guess so…' Laguna smiled.

'See, now that's a sign of no confidence! "Yeah, I guess so…". More like 'My plan is gonna work whether I like it or not!" ya know? Confidence is the key!' Zell smiled.

'Ok, my plan is gonna work, whether I like it or not!' Laguna said as his frowned as if what he had just said didn't make much sense.

'Or rather…my plan is gonna work! I want it to work…I need it to work…It's my only hope! It has to work!' Laguna said desperately.

'Geeez, is it that important…?' Zell looked worried.

'Well, at least to me it is…not that it'll make a difference in anyone's life, but it would really be great if it worked. I would be able to recover the time that I lost…' Laguna muttered looking at the floor thoughtfully.

'Well then, good luck…and remember: confidence is the key!' Zell pulled his thump up at Laguna walking out cheerfully. Laguna smiled.

'"Confidence is the key"…humph…I'd have loads more confidence if Squall never shut me out of his life all the time…but then, he kind of has the right to… It's my fault anyway…oh, Raine, how I loved you…how I would've done anything to bring you back…and now our son, look what has become of our relationship…we're like two strangers that are linked by blood and nothing more…things would've been different if I had returned earlier…we would've been a family. A happy one…Squall, you , Ellone and I…Just look at what we are now. Ellone's far away in Esthar, you are unreachable… Squall is right here with me and yet he's still far away from me…I don't understand…'

Laguna thought to himself.

'But I have to stick to my son, he's part of me and I have to make it work between us…He hates me now…but I'm gonna change that…I have to…' he frowned.

Laguna looked at the setting sun thoughtfully that reflected in his eyes, turned his face away and walked slowly back in…

**To be continued… **

**That was part 24, hope you liked it! Sorry for the delay! Thank you so much for reading! Thank you so much! There's more to come… Please review.**


	25. Chapter 25

**Part 25:**

It was almost time; the sun was setting more slowly than usual as if on purpose and the gang's state of mind now was of great anxiety and worry. All they wanted was for it to be dark so that they could walk out and start searching for signs of Quistis and Seifer and eventually find Sarakman's official base.

Meanwhile in Mr. Turroco's house, Quistis looked out the lounge window, gazing at

melting sun as Ash sat on the couch silently and twiddled his thumbs now and then, uncomfortable with the silence between them.

But suddenly, the couch's springs made a noise, making Quistis looked around slowly as if she had waken up from her never ending day dream.

'Where're you going?' she asked curiously.

'…I-I was gonna…err…will you just give a second please?' he said a little uncomfortably.

'Oh, ok.' Quistis looked at him oddly.

Ash walked quickly out of the room and his footsteps faded away as he walked up the kitchen stairs.

'Ok…' Quistis murmured as she stared at the door thoughtfully and then back out of the window.

A few minutes later, Ash came walking into the lounge, holding his wrist tightly and sat on the couch as he reached for the medical-aid box and took out a bandage roll.

'What happened to your wrist?' Quistis walked slowly up to him and sat on the couch.

'Oh…This?' he chuckled.

'It's bleeding…' she stated.

'Remember Irik?' he smiled lovably at her as he wrapped the bandage around his wrist.

'Irik? Your pet? What? Did it attack you?' Quistis said surprised.

'Oh, no…It's my fault. I usually wear a special glove when she comes back, but it wasn't at my reach. By the way she's a Ganahirien eagle, a very rare specie…have you seen one before?' he smiled gently.

'No, only in books. They're absolutely beautiful and amazing creatures. And I believe they used to be the royal family's trade mark, right?' Quistis said in surprise.

'…Would you like to meet her?' he asked, ignoring her question.

'I'd love to…' Quistis smiled enthusiastically.

'Here, you've got to put these on…' he said, passing her a long, thick suede brown glove.

Quistis then got up, expecting him to guide her to where the eagle was, but he continued sitting down as he put the glove on.

'Sit down…' he said.

Quistis frowned and did as he said, then he started making a weird clicking sound with his tongue and before Quistis could even blink, through the lounge door flew a beautiful bird. She had dark red feathers on her tail that would get gold all the way up her neck and a strong smooth black beak. The big bird then flew around the lounge, flapping its huge wings noisily and in their direction, making Quistis's heart race, it landed on Ash's arm gracefully.

'Yathir umji kei…' he murmured at the bid tenderly.

Quistis's brow frowned as she assisted the whole intriguing scene.

Ash then looked at Quistis with a smile and approached his arm with Irik comfortably standing on it.

'Bring your arm closer…' he smiled gently.

Quistis hesitated, but the bird was truly beautiful and she surely wanted to get a closer look at it.

The bird hoped onto her arm and looked her in the eye. Irik had a piercing look in her eyes as if she knew what you were thinking, somewhat intimidating about her. She had beautiful amber coloured eyes that would stand out by the colouring of her feathers.

'She has your eyes…' Quistis smiled in amazement.

Ash just looked at Quistis with a small peaceful grin on his face.

'She likes you…' he said now looking at Irik.

'She's a true beauty…' Quistis said now stroking her.

'Kei ahary teuhom…' he murmured at Irik as she responded with a small squeaky cry.

'What was that about?' Quistis chuckled as Irik hopped onto Ash's arm again.

'I told her she's coming with us.' Ash said as he stroked her neck.

'What language is that?' Quistis frowned.

'It's Haryanne…an ancient language used for thousands of years in Ganahir. It's the kingdom's official language. Very few people use it nowadays. Most don't even now it.' he said sadly.

'That's interesting. Queen Harath died about sixteen years ago. Haven't her children become the heirs of the throne? ' Quistis asked.

'Nobody has heard of them since her death.' He said with an uncomfortable frown on his face.

'What happened to them?'

'Nobody knows. It's been many years… they are most probably dead. The are no heirs to the throne…Sarakman is the new ruler… .'

'Sarakman! He's been your ruler for sixteen years!' Quistis's moth dropped open.

'I guess you may put it that way…' he said gazing at the fire.

'What do you mean?'

'After her death, Ludo Keurst, Queen Harath's husband and father of her children accepted the throne…and Ganahir seemed to be in good hands but it wasn't so…'

'What happened?'

'When he became king…life here seemed to be getting along well. Ganahir hasn't been the same for sixteen years. Sixteen years of troops controlling our every move, of killing the innocent…sixteen years of no freedom and uncalled for deaths. Sixteen years of our lives that we try to forget…'

'That's' awful. I had no idea Ganahir was under such forces! How come nobody knew about it!'

'Ganahir is a forest, Quistis. Seldom have we had visits from other countries or towns. We are a lost community in the Cold Lands... After the Queen's death, we have been forgotten over years. And no longer were we called 'the holly land of the mighty Sorceress and knights'. He said bleakly.

'I thought Ganahir had become a free land after her death. That's' what the books said…but they had no reference on her children…I didn't even know of their existence!' Quistis said puzzled.

'How did the Queen die?' Quistis asked worriedly.

'Some say she was sick, some say was murdered…the only sure thing was that her body was found in Win Hill in a vast farm where nothing grew besides weeds and thorn bushes.' He looked down.

'Win Hill?...' Quistis frowned.

'…and right next to her body had blossomed the most beautiful plant…' he said.

'The Tear Blossom?' Quistis said.

'Yes…a source of power men have been seeking for centuries…but it was gone before they could even blink. Nowhere to be found…' He said.

'What happened to it?' Quistis looked at him with concern.

'The very next day, her body had disappeared along with the Tear Blossom. From night to day, the whole farm had been filled with life, covered in the most beautiful flowers ever seen along with every other plain in Win Hill…' he explained in his shallow voice.

'That explains why Win Hill is rich in flowers and plants…' Quistis muttered to herself.

'To many people it's just a meaningless legend…but to me it's true. The Tear Blossom is nowhere to be found. He will never find it unless he gets his hands on the new sorceress. That way he will kill her and the legend shall repeat itself, just that he will be there to collect the plant and take its power when it blossoms again…the plant's and the sorceress's power, there is nothing more powerful than the two of these combined…if that happens, a Kingdom of Shadow and death shall reign the world until the end of time. 'he said seriously.

'So that's what he wants the Sorceress for? To kill her!' Quistis's voice raised anxiously.

'I'm afraid so. And if he is successful, freedom will be no more. The concept will vanish. We will be under his control until Hyne knows when…But I believe that's why you and your friends are here for…to help us win this war…' he looked at her.

'That's right and we won't rest until we know the world's freedom is at safety.' Quistis's voice trembled.

'Ash, where does Sarakman appear is this whole story?' Quistis asked a few moments later.

'It's a long story…' Ash sighed.

'I don't understand how suddenly he is in control…please tell me.' Quistis frowned.

'Well, to make it short and sweet, he was Ludo Keurst best friend since childhood…and Queen Harath's knight…'

'What a connection… It just gets worse as the story goes on…go on, please!' Quistis said in amazement.

'…three months before Lance Ikham accepting his crown as King of Ganahir and knight of the Queen Sorceress, he introduced Ludo Keurst, a brave soldier that fought for peace in other lands, to the Queen. It was love at first sight, as they say…' Ash smiled lightly.

'Who is Lance Ikham?' Quistis felt puzzled.

Ash raised his hand as if to say 'I'm getting there…' and went on telling the story.

'After meeting Ludo, the Queen had fallen in love. And even knowing that Lance was her knight, she couldn't betray her heart. This love was corresponded. Ludo had fallen deeply in love with her too but couldn't betray his best friend. So, Harath, young and beautiful as she was, seduced Ludo into giving in to their love and ending up getting involved with her. After meeting several times in secrecy, Ludo had made his mind up and decided to face his friend and tell him what was going on…But things didn't turn out as expected…Lance challenged Ludo to a duel to death. And so it was… ' Ash explained, stroking Irik's beak.

'Ludo had won the duel for he was much better swordsmen than Lance , but couldn't live with his conscience. He had killed his best friend and the heir of the throne…so he decided to leave Ganahir and never come back, leaving his love behind, thinking he wasn't wordy of such happiness…But before he left, the Queen desperate for him to stay, not wanting the announcement to be an excuse for him to stay, had no choice, but to tell him that she was pregnant…'

'And he stayed?' Quistis smiled.

'Yes, he did. And so the queen, as the Sorceress that she was, she erased Ludo's suffering, by erasing details of Lance's death. And it would be nice if I could just end this by saying and they lived happily ever after…but unfortunately, the problems did not end there, but grew from that envied love…'

'Ash, it's a tragic story…It sounds like a fairy-tail…but I believe in every word you're saying. But I still don't understand where does Sarakman come in this whole story?' Quistis asked worriedly.

'I told you it was a long story…' Ash smiled softly as Irik flew of his arm and out of the lounge.

'But it's time for us to go…' he smiled gently at her.

Quistis instinctively looked out of the window and realised it was already pitch black dark outside.

'You're right. I guess I lost track of time with such a beautiful story…' Quistis smiled enchanted.

'I'm afraid it doesn't end so beautifully as hoped, though. But that can wait, we should go find your friends. Come, lets get some "camouflage"…' he said getting up and helping her up, walking out of the lounge with her.

'"Camouflage"?' Quistis said.

'Yeah…you'll see…' he said.

'Time to go guys! C'mon! This way!' Laguna shouted out clapping his hands.

Laguna walked over to the couch Selphie had fallen on earlier on and climbed through the window, disappearing and then sticking his hand out.

'Selphie dear, you're next!' he whispered from the street.

'Oh, shucks…' Selphie climbed on the couch with Irvine's help and was pulled up by Laguna with no effort at all.

'Rinoa darling!' Laguna said.

'Coming!' Rinoa chuckled as she grabbed Laguna's hand and Squall picked her up, making sure she got through the window carefully.

'Up I go!' Irvine said as he jumped up and slid through the window cheerfully.

Squall rolled his eyes impatiently, grabbed is Gunblade jumped on the couch and crept up the wall and through the window he went.

'Now where do we go?' Rinoa asked while straightening her clothes.

'Wherever the wind takes us…' Laguna said as he put his hands on his waist thoughtfully and stared down the darkened alley.

'You mean, wherever _Zell _takes us?' Selphie said awkwardly as pointed at a darkened figure that made its way away down alley.

'Where's he going!' Rinoa said as she slipped her arm through Squall's.

'Zell, dude?' Irvine walked up to him disappearing into the dark as you could hear his cowboy boots bounce on the floor slowly.

'Shh…keep it down!' Zell hissed, pushing Irvine in his abdomen backwards with his fist.

'What's up?' Irvine asked puzzled.

Zell clicked his tongue and turned around impatiently and looked at Irvine with annoyance. Then suddenly gave a malicious smile and winked.

'Give me a sec…' Zell said and ran silently, ducking down as he went.

Irvine rolled his eyes and head back to the others.

'He's got some battle thirst coming on…'Irvine groaned.

'What did he see?' Laguna asked worriedly.

'I dunno…some but he's gonna kick?' Irvine shrugged his shoulders.

'Well, we aren't getting anywhere by standing around…' Squall groaned impatiently as he took step foward.

Zell took slow steps one at a time, down the alley. He couldn't see anything before him, only the fire flies zooming around him. Zell then reached for the torch on his leather belt, flipped it in the air casually and pushed the on button. A much fatter fire fly came buzzing out lazily from the torch and lit up the whole alley. He could now make out what he had in front of him, some ivy covered brick wall. It looked like a house.

'Whoa…' he murmured.

Zell then turned the torch to the right and to his surprise saw a black shadow move out of the lit spot just before he could make out what it was! Zell instinctively followed it. But it had vanished! Zell's breathing hardened as he turned around briskly and scoured the whole alley with his torch. But nothing…Whatever he had seen, was big and couldn't possibly be an animal. It was a cowardly creature whose butt waited to be Kicked, Zell thought enthusiastically.

'This is stupid…'Zell switched his torch of and kept still for a second.

'I'm gonna getcha…he he he…your butt is mine!' he whispered to himself as he took slow steps backwards. He then slowly ducked and reached his hand to the ground searching for a stone or something. He was able to grasp and handful of pebbled and without thinking twice he lift up and threw the pebbles to where his senses told him the creature was. And he was right! The creature had stumbled and changed position. Zell could now tell where it was. And on the count of three, Zell took one big step, bent over and somersaulted in what seemed like a split of a second and was able top flip himself over the creature and land right in front of it, jumping right on top of it and surprisingly throwing it down with him. It was rather small to be one of Sarakman's serpents, he thought as gravity worked on them both.

Zell was literally sitting on the cowardly creature that now gasped nervously and struggled underneath Zell, scratching around on the pebbles.

'Ha! Gotcha!' Zell yelled triumphal as he clutched his hands tightly onto what seemed to be very thin arms…

'What the…!' he grumbled as he clipped the torch off his belt again and pushed the button and pointed it at the shivering, small creature he sat on.

'Urgh!' it squeaked frightened by the powerful light.

'Wholy cow!' Zell's mouth dropped open in shock.

**TO BE CONTINUED…**


	26. Chapter 26

**Part 26:**

In the dead of the night, a gush of cold wind blew his sweaty, tense face as he stared at what he had beneath him in awe with his mouth sprung open. His ruffled up icy blond hair blew out of his face as his striking blue electric eyes wide open as they were beamed at the intriguing creature with. He unconsciously, observing all its features, tightened his grip on the creature as it struggled to loosen itself desperately drowning in its own gasps of fear, nearly loosing breath.

The first thing to notice were her tightly shut eyes that twitched now and then, furrowing her thick brow tensely and gasping for air as she wrestled violently, trying to break free.

Her hair as if from heaven, the colour of an ancient mahogany bark on whose blood had splashed on, shinned angelically and descended to earth in graceful spirals. Long hair that covered some of her face but that at the same time made sure her marble-like pale silky face stood out as well by berry colour small lips that now revealed two wide pearly young white teeth underlined at the bottom with little curves and a small unusual round nose.

It's like she wouldn't give up, she fought and fought until she could no more. Zell held her down effortlessly and unconscious that he was making her tired, he limited himself to gaze at the uncommon beauty in front of him that he most surely would never see again.

She then, completely wasted and tired found herself forced to stop. Her thin tense body now seemed to loose life as she took tired deep breaths of air and relaxed her eyelids a bit, but remaining a frustrated frown on her face.

She then, impatient, frustrated, scared wondering why the hell wasn't whoever who was holding her down, killing her or trying to hurt her…

Zell who at this point could only worry about contemplating such a rare sight, couldn't tell what harm he was doing to her, his weight, the light in her face, his tight grip on her wrist and the fact of him having thrown her down unexpectedly and quite violently, thinking it was an enemy, blood-thirsty as he was, anything for him would do. He just wanted to break it down. A good punch and heel drop were what he needed to take his fury out and release the silent frustration and anger inside his guts. But this…this…creature. An electrical sensation made its way down his spine as his heart dropped in excited anticipation and surprise. Who on earth was she! Suddenly all his need to take his fury out on some animal evaporated and was subsided by whatever he felt on this unexpected moment.

She then clapped her hand on her face frustrated because of the intense light that wouldn't give her a chance to open her eyes.

And between her fingers opened her eyes hesitatingly. The most indescribable colour blew Zell's face off. His eyes wrinkled as if they shinned harder than the light. He found himself mesmerized and lost not knowing on earth what that look transmitted through does almond shaped eyes that revealed a mixed emotion of fear, excitement and an unusual wild freedom. She too now observed what she had in front of her…

Zell's mouths wide open in awe with his two sharp canines peeping out mischievously, his energetic, shocking blue eyes, than shinned more than usual and glittered with the torch's light. The whole of his half-lit mysterious face on whose side she could notice a large intriguing tattoo, infiltrated her mind and seemed to take her somewhere distant. And to that trust she had found in Zell's look and the human warmth of his skin and his breath the fear in her had subsided with hope as her heart beat faster to the uncommon image she beamed. Though Zell's mysterious, out going and somehow scary frown could easily put a stranger off, it transmitted a sense of comfort and security to her and in a way provided her with something she though she'd never feel again, making that fearsome look in her eyes disappear and bringing out some hope and trust.

For that mute moment of mutual understanding between them, they simultaneously understood something they weren't quite sure of. They knew something had changed on that very moment of eye contact. And the strangest of all was that no words were involved, only the union of two souls in one look that somehow, they felt had changed their lives…

And despite nothing being said, in that silent time haunting memories had risen undead in her mind, reminding her of the open cuts that still hadn't been heeled. And a painful shivering frown reappeared on her face, making her turn her face and destroy the link that had established between them. Zell noticed what she had felt by one of her little gasps. This made him worry and he then realised what he was doing. He switched his view to his hand grabbing her wrist tightly and assumed it had been his behaviour.

'Sorry…' he murmured very softly switched the torch off and clearing his throat nervously.

He could now hear her slowly get up on her feet and take a step away slowly.

But something in Zell didn't want her to leave. Deep down, he feared never to see her again. She was a complete stranger, but something happened a while ago, when they looked at each other.

And as a wave of hesitation stroke Zell, he reached out his hand and grabbed her arm softly.

'…Wait.' He murmured as he stopped her from leaving.

The girl stood still and waited for him to talk.

'Sorry if I hurt you…Iya…Iya thought you were someone else.' He said shyly in his scratchy mischievous voice.

'I'm fine…'murmured her soft, slightly scratchy yet sweet voice.

Zell frowned, desperate for more words, but he couldn't think of anything. Finally the fatal question that hadn't abandoned his blank mind since his encounter with her…

'Who are you!' he asked brusquely without the intent.

'I-I must go…' she muttered nervously twisting her wrist out of his hand and walking away quickly.

'Hey! Wait! Don't go! Who are you!' he asked, raising his voice as he stumbled trying to get up as he heard her soft footsteps leave the area.

And before he knew it, he couldn't hear or see anything, he switched on his torch, but it was too late. She was gone.

Zell's heart beat irregularly as he looked around for signs of the girl, but she was nowhere to be found. She had vanished.

Zell threw himself on his knees and dropped the torch in despair.

He scratched his head and looked at the white light of the torch, wondering what had he done for her to run from him like that. Would he ever see her again?

Zell's heart thumped with adrenaline and desperation. He was quite sure it had been the first and the last time, just like everything else in his life that would come and go whenever he least expected it. It was just a matter of forgetting her now. Which would be hard for he had never before stared into such deep mesmerizing eyes. And just the thought of never being able to drown in them again was heart breaking.

Zell who was kneeled on the sandy ground, looked up into the sky and silently looked hard into the sky and wrinkled his eyes as he remembered the pain in her eyes. A small tear formed in one of his eyes.

He slowly then paused his hands on his knees and took a deep breath as he bend his head down.

'She couldn't have affected me so much…Damn…' he whispered to himself as he felt his heart now coming up his throat.

He swallowed to take the sensation away and then out of nothing he started to hear something in the distance.

They were footsteps, but they weren't her soft, smooth footsteps, they were heavier, determined and steady ones. They approached him now, closer and closer they came and stopped as what seemed right in front of him.

Zell looked up to the tall strong shadow of a person, and nervously in an attempt to move away, he leaned backwards, ending up on his bottom and pushing himself backwards with his feet and hands.

And suddenly out of nothing there was a click and out came a bright, head-bursting light than shinned straight into Zell's frowning tattooed face.

Zell immediately raised his hand up to block the light and figure out who he had in front of him.

Suddenly the figure reached out a hand to Zell. He wore a black leather glove.

Zell's expression softened as he realised it was Squall in front of him.

'Squall is that you, dude!' Zell said in unsecure relief.

'…No, I'm his mother…' Squall answered back sarcastically, but light humouredly, which was typically his, except for the good mood part.

''Course it's you!' Zell chuckled grabbing Squall's hand eagerly.

'Did you fight anyone yet?' Squall asked as they both walked in the darkness not knowing Zell where Squall headed.

This question made Zell jerk nervously as he felt his stomach tighten

'Errr…No…No, I did not.' He tried his best to forget what had happened, but images kept on flashing in his mind, distorting the way he spoke and making him try to sound convincing.

'"No, I did not"?' Squall frowned looking at Zell oddly.

'Since when do you speak so vigorously?' Squall chuckled.

'It just came out, d-dude!' Zell panicked.

'Whatever.' Squall shook his head smirking.

'Dude, you use that word far too many times.' Zell complained.

'Whatever…' Squall smirked.

Zell just chuckled.

As soon as they both had put long black cloaks and hoods on, Ash led Quistis through the kitchen back door.

He then shut the ivy-covered door softly and locked it. Quistis could now see what the house looked like on the outside: it was completely covered in ivy. They then head down a flight of metal staircase and head through the darkened alley that went up hill.

'The house you live in looks abandoned…' Quistis muttered softly.

'Thank you…it was my intention.' Ash smiled broadly from under his hood as they walked up the little crooked road.

When they had reached the end of the alley, Ash had sprung his arm in front of Quistis as sign for her to slow down. He then leaned against the wall of a house and held Quistis by her arm. He then stretched his neck and peeped.

'Ok, lets go…'he pulled her arm gently as they both entered a new street, a wider one.

'There's no one out here… Are these streets usually so empty?' Quistis whispered.

'Nobody lives here, Quistis…Only me.' He said, looking forward as they walked hastily through the street.

'How come!' Quistis asked.

'The people…they were forced to leave. Sarakman's men evacuated the area in order avoid any intruders or spies. This way, they can catch them easily. Anyone who tries to stop the process is eliminated.' Ash answered with a tone of disgust in his voice.

'Where have the people gone, Ash? I mean this place is huge. They can't just evacuate the whole country.' Quistis said in disbelief.

'That's true. But then, what is impossible nowadays? Quistis, all I know is that the people who once lived here have moved out. Where to? I don't know. It's very strange that all of them just disappeared out of town in a day. They can't be dead, I know they aren't, but there's something going on.' Ash said thoughtfully. But as soon as he had finished answering her, he had sighted someone, making him, pull Quistis unexpectedly into a corner of a door.

'Shhh…' he looked at her seriously and held her very close to him as he covered her head properly.

'Were we seen?' Quistis asked him frightened.

'I don't think so.' He answered confidently.

'Keep your head down…and don't breathe until I say you can…' he whispered in her ear.

'What!' Quistis hissed.

'Shhh…Do as I say.' he whispered.

Quistis looked at him with disbelief, then nodded.

She had stopped breathing, nothing she wasn't used to. She went swimming many times, just that now the tension was different. There was a serpent approaching them and they couldn't breath near it. What kind of creatures were they! Quistis stared at Ash, who she couldn't tell what he was looking at for his hood covered most of his face.

He had stopped breathing completely and remained completely silent and still, limiting to hold her tightly next to him.

She couldn't hear anything and this made her extremely frustrated, so she tried turning her neck slightly to see anything. But soon Ash had leaned his head on the side of hers, avoiding her from turning her neck. Quistis then felt extremely stupid.

She could still feel Ash's head against hers, but soon, she started to feel dizzy and desperately the need for air. She feared collapsing on that moment, which would end up being one more embarrassment for her. She insisted on resisting weakness.

But it was stronger than her, she couldn't take it anymore, her chest started to ache and her brain wanted to blank out.

Quistis then found herself laying her head on Ash's shoulder slowly as she closed her eyes, hoping the thing would just go away and holding tightly onto her chest.

Ash not expecting it turned his neck slowly to look at her. She opened her eyes tiredly and looked at his darkened face as her mind remained completely blank, she tried to go on, but the pain in her chest was so strong she started tearing.

Ash leaned his face in on hers and in the union of their lips; he passed some oxygen to her lungs. Ash's thin lips parted from hers dryly and Quistis who was barely awake, opened her eyes slowly and in a thank you, smiled weakly. Her chest had been alleviated.

Ash once again pushed the hood over Quistis's head and placed his hand on her back comfortingly.

The sound of water drops falling onto a stone ground echoed in his ears. The coldness of the air was felt like a cruel blade in his flesh. The uncomfortable sensation of humidity took over his skin and the smell of blood and fear roamed the air.

The tight rope's fibres pierced his skin and burned around his wrists. His arms numb with the pain of holding his body weight seemed to be no longer useful. And his head leaned against his naked chest, seemed to be too heavy for him to lift up.

His eyes blindfolded burnt as if he had been staring into the sun the whole day and his thin lips were dry and the slightest move he'd make with it he'd provoke the skin to tear and make cuts on his lips.

Suddenly, before he could think of anything else, he heard footsteps. The person approached him and he turned his face uncomfortably as he felt the unwanted presence of someone.

'I warned you, Ja-hei. You left the order, you left your freedom.' Said a slimy voice that seemed horrifically familiar and caused his blood to boil.

'DON'T CALL ME THAT!' he yelled furiously at the sound of his name of betrayal, provoking more cuts on his lips.

'It was your loss…and you must now pay the price for it and your betrayal to the order in name of the Lord of Shadow…'the man finished vigorously.

'You disgust me…' he winced as he felt someone cutting him loose from the ropes and letting him fall painfully on the stone floor.

'Urgh…' he grabbed his wrist and tried to rub them, but before he knew it, two people had taken him brutally by his arms and forced him onto a chair, strapping him to it violently.

'I bet you remember this, huh? Don't say you didn't miss it! Hahahaha!' said that horribly annoying voice made his brain want to burst.

'And look, this was your favourite part!' the voice said as he strapped his hands to the arms of the chair.

'On it goes…' he said sarcastically turning some button on.

Suddenly, Seifer's fingers were pulled into some compartments on the chair and five metal chips for each hand were positioned on the tips of his fingers.

'How deep do you want them, brother?' he smirked.

'AAAAAAARGH!' the sharp metal chips pierced right under his nails causing the most excruciating pain imaginable.

Seifer's body jerked by itself but was held down by the straps around his chest.

'Hahahahahaha!' the man laughed pleased by the pain caused to Seifer.

'Is…that… all you've… got?' Seifer raised his head in fury.

'Ha ha! I can see you've gained a liking to it! Lets go a little deeper! Shall we?'

'AAAAAAAAAARGH!' Seifer winced as the metal chips sunk deeper into his skin.

Seifer at this point felt his hands on fire and at the same time numb with the pain.

'Go on, Leithe, I think you clearing his sinuses! Haha!' laughed another one of them.

'I don't know, lets ask him what he thinks…' and Leithe finally approached Seifer and in a wicked smirk, grabbed Seifer's hair almost by its roots and pulled it hard, making Seifer's mouth drop open as he gasped for air lost in all the physical pain he was being submitted to.

'What do you say, Ja-hei? You want some more manicure? Or do you want to go for the next ride? Hm?' whispered the slimy guy's voice.

'F$#… off…' Seifer groaned between his teeth.

'Whoa…I can see that fury of yours springing through your veins again…and isn't it a coincidence that I was going to use these? Nice timing, brother. Now you can bleed some more than we expected…' hissed the guy triumphal as he now pierced what seemed splints of wood into Seifer's neck and chest. Seifer barely awake due to all the pain winced each time one of those splints entered his flesh violently as all the men that assisted laughed and spat on him, some even smacking his face with leather strips…

'Qui..stis…' he winced softly as a image of her flashed in his mind, blanking out completely to the noise of their cold laughter the moment Leithe grabbed his hair again and pulled it ruthlessly…

* * *

Sorry for taking long to write this chappie. I have been quite unlucky in the past few days. Home problems, some rotten marks, work overload (oral presentations! Projects and more projects!) And some depression coming on. Worse of all I have no Cable, no Internet and my computer is completely done for. I think it's irreversible (my dad killed it!-Won't even switch on to windows! Damn!) All in one week! The only thing that has really saved me from insanity in the past few days has been my sketchbook, my fav radio station and my note pad, where I took notes for this chappie. Anyway the summer holidays are coming along and I can't wait for damn school to end! Teachers: die!

It's amazing how life can become so crappie in so little time…

Please review! And one again, and no, I do not get sick of saying this: Thank you so much for reading! Thank you so much!

**Special Thanks to:**

**MafGoldenHeart:** you are the best friend I could ever wish 4!

**Gothic Rikku:** I'm so happy you enjoyed my fic! Thanks 4 reading!

**ShaddowRayne:** Thanks! Just go on reading! And send in more comments, be gentile though: P

**Benzi:** Thank you so much for your advice. You know what? You are absolutely right! I'm gonna start working harder on the action parts. After all they are the best parts… 

**Kaye:** Thanks for reading! And thanks for giving me strength to go on writing! I've been hesitant on going on, you know, but when I suddenly got all this response, I felt so happy! Thx 


	27. Chapter 27

Part 27:

'...Quistis!' Whispered a soft voice in her ear.

She lifted her head in response, realising it was unusually heavy.

'Mmm…' she mumbled as she tried to open her eyes only seeing a blurry dark shadow.

She then started to focuse on the face that looked down on her.

'Are you ok?' said a voice with an accented English.

'Ash?' she murmured.

' The Serpent is gone...we can walk on now.' He went on.

Quistis was now looking into his face clearly and realised she was leaning against the door they had been cornered in.

'The Serpent?' she asked oddly.

'Yes...one of Sarakman's men, remember?'

'Oh...of course...one of them.' She chuckled slightly.

'I was probably hoping I had woken up from the nightmare, but I guess I've just returned to it...' she looked away sadly.

Ash's expression changed from worry to sorrow and understanding.

He caressed her face softly with his finger as he looked at her in.

'That's a thought I have everyday the moment I wake up...' he smiled gravely.

'Soon...' he whispered at her as a chill made it's way down her spine.

'...very soon… the nightmare will be over...I promise…' he smiled comfortingly.

Quistis just continued to gaze at him, appreciating the view.

'I believe in you...' she whispered frowning.

And next was deffening silence in which their eyes met and remained staring into each other as if the same thoughts striked their minds. Suddenly the only thing they could hear was their very own heart beat and breaths…

To this, Ash's mind travelled somewhere else and before he knew it his face was touching hers.

Quistis froze and limited herself to inhale his pleasent scent and the clashing warth of his skin with the cruel frost of the night air.

Enjoying the attention, she closed her eyes and obeyed her needs by letting him rub his silky lips along the skin of her face lovingly. He then caressed her hair with his fingers gently and pressed his lips slowly against the corner of her mouth as Quistis turned her face hoping this time he'd touch her lips in a sweet kiss...

But he limited himself to rubbing his nose against her skin and taking deep breaths, enjoying perfume as with his fingers he touched her slightly parted lips gently…

Ash now dropped on his knees and with both hands now held Quistis's face lovingly, rubbed his lips along her cheek slowly as if he followed the way to her lips and when he got there …

**BANG! **roured a defening noise that came from one of the nearby alleys.

Ash and Quistis parted abrubtly with their hearts racing, which made Ash fall backwards and Quistis dropp her arms down,widening her eyes in fright.

'W-What this!' Quistis whispered as she looked at a 180º angle.

Ash instinctively grabbed Quistis's arm and helped her up as he scoured the area for enemies.

'Sounded like a shot-gun…' he said nervously as he looked at her shyly.

'What do we do?' she asked him shyly too.

'I dunno...um…stay here. I'll go check the area…'

'A-Ash wait!' but before Quistis could even speak, Ash had vanished down another darkened alley.

'Great...' she grumbled to herself.

Quistis then blushed remembering what had just happened, feeling her cheeks hot suddenly and very nervous, but thrilled.

Then feeling silly with her behaviour just now, she clapped her hands to her face and shook her head in denial…

'Oh, what am I moaning about… I'm an Instructor...' Quistis regained her firm posture made her mind up and followed him.

She head down the unusually darkened alley and guided herself through, touching the walls as she went.

'How could you!' squeaked a familiar voice from another little crooked alley that had some weak illumination.

'I'm sorry...I though it was...' roared now a thick, jerky familiar voice. SMACK!

'Urgh!...'

She now could hear a very very familiar loud snort. 'Zell!' Quistis thought.

'Keep it down you two!' mumbled now Laguna's voice.

'Laguna, he almost killed a cat!' Squealed Selphie furiously.

'Selphie please calm down...' Rinoa said gently.

'The cat's fine, Selphie...' Squall said increduesly.

'Yeah..it even swore at Irvine before it left, didn't you hear?' snorted Zell.

'C'mon Selphie it's not like he almost killed a human! It's just a cat for freaks sake! Besides it survived...haven't you heard that cats have sev..' Zell said, but before he could even finish, Squall punched Zell in the shoulder to make him pipe down, raising his hand in signal as he took a few steps towards darkened very straight road.

And before anyone could blink, Squall sprinted into the darkened road and seized someone. Moments later he came walking out with someone under his arm who seemed to be unconscious.

'It's one of them! I know it!' Zell yelled excitedly racing up to him as Squall raised the person and leaned it carelessly against the wall as its feet lifted from the ground.

The person had a black hood on and was looking down at Squall gasping tiredly. And then with a shake Squall gave it, trying to make the person talk, but on that instant a small piece of golden hair flipped out of the hood, making Squall's jaw drop. He then put the person down and swallowed dryly as he slowly pulled the hood off the person.

'Hi Squall...' gasped Quistis tiredly as she leaned her hand on his arm and looked down as if she were feeling dizzy.

'Q-Quistis...' he murmured in surprise.

'Quisty!' Zell picked her up and hugged her tightly as Selphie and Rinoa followed him to celebrate as well.

'Quistis is that really you?' Irvine got nearer.

Squall remained on the same spot surprised and as his head filled with questions, he eyes caught up with a dark creature that walked along the roof and observed them.

Squall strained his eyes to get a better look. It looked like a feline, a big one. It was the size of an adult dog and had amber eyes. Suddenly he felt a chill go down his spine as he realised that the creature was now staring at him.

'Everything alright?' muttered Laguna.

Squall jerked and looked at Laguna with a confused expression on his face and immediately looking back at the rooftop.

'I-I'm fine...' Squall said narrowing his eyes looking for the creature that had been there moments before Laguna had spoken.

'Squall! We thought something had happened to Quistis and now that we found her safe all you do is stare!' Selphie strode up to Squall.

Squall then feeling doubtful of his sanity, was dragged to Quistis by Selphie. This made Rinoa, Zell, Irvine and Quistis giggle.

'It's ok…I don't mind. I'm used to Squall's cold shoulder…' Quistis smiled.

Squall gave one more look to the rooftop and then looked straight into Quistis who now was smiling broadly.

'Guess I'm back, huh?' she smiled.

'Yeah…I'm glad your back…' he smiled faintly giving her a mechanical hug as his mind kept on the creature he had seen.

'Sorry about that…' he murmured with a corner smile.

'It's fine…' she smiled.

And after a few more giggles, Quistis started looking around wildely for Ash, remembering that he had gone to look out for the noise, but not hearing of him ever since.

But he wasn't there…

'What's wrong, Quisty? Anyone missing?' Zell giggled.

'Well, we can assure you that Seifer ain't with us…besides you were with him when you disappeared, right?' Irvine said.

'Yes he was…but…' Quistis suddenly looked sad as she held on to the thin leather string she wore on her left wrist tha once belonged to him.

'What happened?' Rinoa asked at once.

'It's a long story…I met someone… he was with me just now…but I seem to have lost him…' she said bleakly.

'You look tired Quistis…maybe you should get some rest, dear…' Laguna said.

'You'll have enough time to tell us what happened.' Squall added looking at Laguna absentmindedly.

'But where?' Rinoa asked.

'Oh, that won't be a problem! Pick a door, Quisty! C'mon!' Zell said raising his fists and hoping up and down energetically.

'I don't know if we should break in…' Quistis said worriedly, but before she could even finish, Zell had already knocked down the closest door.

'Too late…' Rinoa chuckled as she ran behind Zell and walked into the house, making an elegant gesture and litting the main room.

'This is great!' Zell whispered excitedly sitting himself in a dusty couch.

When everyone had entered the abandoned house, Squall pushed the door up again effortlessly.

Quistis sat on the coffee table and gazed at the floor, thinking.

''Sup, Quisty?' Zell asked her, leaning forward to look at her.

'I'm just worried about Ash..' she said.

'Ash? What have we missed out on?' Selphie jumped onto the couch and smiled widely at Quistis who looked rather worried.

'Tell us what happened!' Rinoa sat slowly next to Quistis on the coffee table as Squall lifted up a dining table and leaned against the window so that the light wouldn't be seen on the outside.

It was cold, ice cold. There was something tight around his head that pinched the skin around his nose and his mouth. He wanted to take it off, but as his hands reached for his head very very slowly as if in slow motion, he realised that he was submerged in water and then to his horror as he raised his hands a bit more they were brought back down by chains that linked his wrists to something heavy. He then tried to move his feet but they were also imprisoned. Panicking his eyes sprung open and he realised he was in a water tank and was breathing through and oxygen mask.

'Urghh!' he struglled furiously as the chains moved around on the bottom of the tank heavily until he could no more..

'Greatings mermaid…' said the same disgusting slimey voice in his ear.

Seifer looked around terrified once he realised he was being watched.

'Do you like your new home? It's where you're going to stay until master thinks you're ready to die. Ah ha ha ha ha!'

Seifer's breathing started to accelarate as the fury burned in his veins.

'I'll kill YOU!' Seifer roared through the mask as he felt his own breath steam up his face.

'It seems you're wrong, Ja-Hei…Terribly wrong. See, now I'm the one in control this time, not Master. And if its up to me, brother, I'll make you hurt and burn up in pain, until your very eyes drie up from tearing… And by then… you'll be the one begging me totake away your miserable life…Ahahahaha!' the insane man's voice trembled with glee.

'But you know what?…I won't take it from you… you'll burn up in pain until every piece of flesh in you is carbonized…just like a miserable cockroach on the burning coal. That's the death a traitor deserves…The hardest one to get…'

'Arghhh!' Seifer screeched as he felt the electric waves finding their way into him and burning his insides, making all the muscles in his body as tough as a rock. His whole body curved backward, his feet elevated from the tank's bottom and his arms contracted forcing the chains to jerk violently as they dented the skin on his wrists. And as the electrocution ended, his head was thrown frontward onto his chest due to the impulse and next was the cruellest of laughs roaring in his head.

Seifer was now puffing with fury and adreneline.

'I would change places with you, but you seem to be enjoying yourself so…I'll just leave you to your hopeless thoughts for a while.'

'You're SICK!' he groaned loudly, still puffing furiously.

'Not as sick as you were when you decided to switch sides without the slightest shame in your pale scarred face!' roared the voice furiously.

'Urgh…!' Seifer jerked his naked body furiously, pulling the chains brutally as his breathing accelerated with every heartbeat.

Seifer knew it would not be a piece of cake to free himself from The Serpents, especially because of his past actions that completely ticked them off. Seifer had been once a Serpent too, but had taken Balamb's side after discovering that what Sarakman really looked forward to was the death of his two best friends and the power they had right to.

But not even time could erase his vow made to The Lord of Shadow for it was written on his bare skin…

Quistis had told the gang about what happened back in the forest, when Seifer had just vanished after assisting a horrifying death like disappearance, how she met Ash and what they were up to before loosing track of him.

Although everyone paid careful attention and asked questioned every now and then, Squall seemed to have locked himself in his own mind as he sat on the armchair next to them, caught up thought. And every now and then Laguna would give a worried glance at him.

Once everybody had rested and was equipped properly, they decided to hit the road again.

'Don't worry, Quisty…I'm sure Ash is ok. I mean you said he found you in the forest and he must be quite strong to have escaped, especially because of all the troops we ran into there, huh?' Selphie tried to cheer Quistis up.

'I suppose, but he was heading to where Irvine's shot gun sounded and he didn't reach you guys…I don't understand…'

'Maybe he was shy!' Rinoa suggested giggling.

'I don't think so…' Quistis smiled entertained.

'Was he cute?' Selphie asked mischiefvously. (The boys all stared at them)

Quistis blushed.

Selphie and Rinoa giggled excitedly.

'I think I smell romance…' Selphie smiled broadly as she slid her arm through Quistis's and skipped along.

'Girls, this isn't the place or time…let's concentrate on our mission, shall we?' Laguna said patiently.

'Dudes! I think we've come to a dead end…' Irvine said as he pointed the torch onto a brick wall.

After a few moments of contemplating the annoying brick wall…

'It's not that dead, Irvine!' Selphie walked up to him reached out for his ponytail and pulled it, forcing him to look up.

'Argh!' he winced as he shut his eyes.

'Broaden your mind, Irvy!' she smacked his forehead spitefully, making Zell snort loudly.

Irvine opened his eyes and pointed the torch upwards and realising that there was no building, just a brick wall that closed the road.

'That's strange! Why would there be a brick wall in the middle of nowhere with no purpose to it…' Zell said more to himself than to anyone else.

'It's exactly the contrary, Zell…If this brick wall was constructed here after this building were made, there can only be a purpose to it…' Rinoa explained.

'To block an entrance …to hide something…'Squall murmured staring at the gigantic brick wall…

'Whoa!' Zell's jaw dropped.

'Indeed…' Laguna murmured thoughtfully while scratching his chin.

To be continued…

_Yep! I'm back! With one more chappie after… what? …two months of dissapearence? LOL Well, don't blame me…I don't have Internet anymore and it's hard to use someone else's computer to do ur own things…if u know what I mean! Anywayz, I hope you enjoy this…there's still a lot to come! The end is approaching….! Please review! Thanks for reading. A special thanks to all the reviewers and MafGoldenHeart – my best friend! She's so great! Bjinho!_


	28. Chapter 28

**Part 28:**

'Why won't she look at me?' Irvine asked Rinoa as Laguna, Squall, Quistis and Zell discussed how they'd get across the brick wall.

'Irvine, she's just upset…that's all. It's nothing to be concerned of. Soon she'll be around your neck again, you'll see. Let her get over her tantrum…' Rinoa smiled reassuringly giving him a wink and walking towards the others who now gestured as they spoke.

Irvine stood still on the spot, staring with a terrified expression on his face at Selphie who leaned against a wall and twiddled her fingers and stared at them as if they were more interesting than her Irvine.

Irvine started to approach her slowly, step by step as if he was trying to not wake a four headed beast from it's light sleep.

'Come any closer and I'll scratch your eye-ball's out…' she said in a harmonious voice.

Irvine felt a chill invade him.

'I-I'm sorry…' he murmured looking at her with frown and taking a step backwards.

'I didn't mean to hurt the creature…you know me…I wouldn't hurt a fly! I swear…I didn't know it was a cat…you've gotta believe me…' he muttered as his voice squeaked with honesty.

'Irvine, you're a SeeD. SeeD's don't only hurt flies but people too when they're ordered to. And…why should I believe you?

'I don't like the way you're treating me, Selphie…it was an accident…'

'You think you're cool with your big Shot-Gun and go shooting things left and right just to prove yourself…you're just a lousy animal killer…' she groaned.

Irvine opened his mouth to speak for a moment, but thought twice and then turned on his heel hurt and furious and strode away.

'We can't just climb the wall…It's far too high and we have no instruments to do it, not even rope…' Rinoa said.

'But you see those bricks on the wall there? They kind of sticking out and if we can just climb up we'll make it without being noticed…' Zell suggested.

'Zell, even if we tried…it's far too high…we've got girls with us. If one of us falls it's a painful death…While I'm responsible for you I won't risk getting anyone killed recklessly…' Squall said firmly.

'Fine…' Zell mumbled crossing his arms.

'Zell, I really think you should listen. Squall's the leader here, he knows for sure what's best for all of you.' Laguna said patting Zell on the shoulder.

'Yeah…yeah…' Zell mumbled.

'Guys, stand back if you don't want to be crushed…' Quistis said to everyone.

Once everyone was behind Squall, Quistis walked up to him and softly spoke to him.

'Who are you summoning?'

'Only Ifrit is strong enough…Shiva is quite weak and The Brothers are with Seifer. I think Ifrit will do quite well on this one. With luck, we won't draw any attention…' he explained.

'Good luck…' Quistis murmured.

Squall nodded.

As soon as Quistis had ran to stand with the others, Squall put one foot back and with all the force in his arm he through his left hand in front of him as a great purple light started to circle him…

'Hell Fire!…' he roared, summoning Ifrit who came descending from the sky and stretching his big muscled limbs gloriously as he puffed smoke through his nostrils. The flames would gather in his palms and soon turned into to a gigantic ball of bursting flames that he now hung over his head and threw it at the massive brick wall, making a big shockwave that made the bits of brick fly in their direction, pushing them all backwards. The strange thing was that it had made no sound and now all there was were little flames and brick dust everywhere accompanied by a heavy layer of smoke and dust in the air that blurred the vision of what stood on the other side.

'Is it over?' Selphie asked a little puzzled in Irvine's arms.

She looked up and stared at him as a broad smile grew across Irvine's face, his white strong teeth shinning in all the darkness.

Selphie's expression changed from puzzled to furious and pushed him away brutally.

Irvine's smile faded…What had he done?

'You're ok?' Rinoa asked him, touching his arm gently.

'Never been better…' he faked a smile and walked over to Squall who had disappeared into the never ending smoke cloud.

'Hey, I don't see my hand in front of me!' Zell yelled panicking.

'Ouch!…my eyes…' Rinoa squeaked as the cloud started to make its way around her and everyone else like a gigantic wave in slow motion.

'Are you ok?'

'Squall?'

'Don't open your eyes, wait a minute…it will settle soon.' Squall's deep voice came from behind.

She felt a strong arm go around her and she dug her face into his chest as the others shouted and ran around confused.

It seemed so long since the last time they stood like this, in a warm loving embrace. It was a feeling such safety and comfort she wished the smoke and dust no to settle so she could be in his arms forever… She realised now how she so desperately needed his love and attention. This mission was taking so long and yet they were always together, they could not always be like they were now. She the made the best of the moment and held him a little closer than necessary and kissed him on his chest instinctively as she inhaled the pleasant scent and warmth of his clothes…

'Guys! Come here! Quick! Move your butts! C'mon! You've got to see this!' Zell's scratchy voice roared from close by with an explicit touch of excitement and thrill…

'It's…monstrous…' Rinoa muttered as she turned her face to stare at the sight in front of them now that the dust had settled but the little flames still burned.

Soon all the comrades stood by what used to be a great brick wall and all stared through its wreck …

It was huge…Beyond the brick wall's wreck was what looked like a massive crater with a huge platform suspended in the air in its very centre. The platform was almost the size of the crater and would extend to a great forest area that surrounded it all around, with various tunnels of white light and bridges that would disappear into the trees. But the most fascinating of all was the great circular aerodynamic building that took most of the platform about 20 stories high. It was massive and seemed to be made of a black stone with barely any windows on it and only ones were on the very last floor. Big mirror windows. Surrounding this building as a barrier were various towers with plain black flags on every one.

Underneath the big floating platform was a stone sort of basement with small high windows with bars on them. Its ancient and mossy look would clash with the aerodynamic design of the top part of the platform, like two opposites. This part would dive into the lake that existed beneath the whole building with various tubes coming in and out of it, connecting the both halves…

'What is it?' murmured Laguna furrowing his brow awkwardly.

'This must be what's his name's hideout…' Zell murmured.

'Sarakman…' Quistis whispered.

'Where do you think he is?…I mean this place is massive…he could be on any floor or tower.' Selphie thought.

'We're going to search this place, inch by inch if we have to…this guy is dead…' Zell groaned furiously.

'This man is going to be eliminated before he can even harm anyone or invade any town…he's going down…' Irvine grunted charging his Shot-gun.

'I think it's time to contact Cid…we haven't reported to him for a while now, have we?' Quistis suggested as she searched her pockets for the little shell-shaped communicator.

'It's reaching him…any second now…' Quistis muttered as everyone circled her.

But the little IC was taking longer than usual to get through to Cid.

'Strange…' she murmured.

But suddenly the black screen started to show some signal and a scratchy image appeared…

A strange face had appeared. A boy with long hair covering his face and green eyes, slightly younger than them.

'W-who are you?' said the kid from the other side with anger in his voice.

'Where's Cid?' Quistis asked firmly.

'…Cid…' the boy repeated.

'Hey kid, how did Cid's IC get into your sticky hands!' Zell roared.

'I found it…' said the boy harmoniously.

'You little thief! How are we supposed to reach him now!'

'I didn't steal it. I found it the wreck while I looked for pieces of steel for my father…'

'What wreck?' Quistis asked puzzled with a touch of fright in her voice.

'Balamb Garden of course…where else would I found pieces of steel?'

'Don't you play with us, boy or you'll regret it bitterly, I swear!…' Zell said furiously.

'Are you sure of what you're saying? This isn't a matter to be played with…' Quistis asked seriously.

'I swear it is the truth…Balamb Garden crashed near Deling City and Cid, the headmaster, he's missing since then. It's been quite a while; people are saying he is dead, others that he's lost on one of the desert islands to the southeast...but there was no body…' said the boy.

'But…how?' Zell looked puzzled.

'No way! Cid can't be dead…Balamb Garden…it's not possible…' Irvine shook his head with a stupefied grin on his face that faded away as soon as Squall's eyes met with his…

'…and…the students? What happened to them?' Quistis swallowed dryly and tried her best to sound firm.

'Well some strange looking troops invaded garden and took over the ship. The students were confronted with highly skilled unscrupulous soldiers with dangerous odd weapons and let loose some weird creatures that from what I heard disabled the students to fight back. And the ones who did were badly hurt and many killed. After that they were all dispatched on The Island Closest to Hell where some did not make it…luckily there was a transmitter on the Island and they were able track them, though most of them returned seriously injured and some even with a screw loose, if I may…after that all they had to do was crash the Garden and so they did and it was planned that it hit Deling city, but thanks to Hyne it failed…I don't even think they know their plan didn't work out…' explained the boy…

'It can't be…not Balamb Garden…' Zell murmured turning around slowly and staring into the night…

'I'm sorry to be the one to inform you of this…I can see you have been are far away for some time…did you belong to Balamb Garden?' the boy seemed more at ease now.

'We are SeeDs…I used to be an instructor there…' Quistis was trying with all her might to fight her tears back.

'Tell me…is there anymore to know besides Balamb Garden's wreck? Were any cities invaded or taken over? ' Quistis was finding it harder and harder to any further questions..

'Well…yes…first WinHill, but no damage was done there, Hyne knows why…then Galbadia Garden was occupied for about two days…they stole their weapons and robots…Balamb City's port was destroyed and the Vessels were stolen, I heard the towns people resisted and were injured badly, their homes destroyed, some even killed. Deling City was invaded too, most of the houses were burnt down, even the Mansion, Caraway has been quite supportive. Our homes were destroyed, some people killed as well, my mother among them…but we're fixing our homes slowly…Esthar is helping us, the destroyed cities and patrolling the area and… that's about all I know…'

'I'm sorry for your mother…how do you know this, kid? You are very well informed for your age…did you witness any of these happening?' Squall asked sympathetically.

'My brother was a SeeD candidate and was one of the survivors on the Island Closest to Hell…He survived, but lost an arm in the process…he reckons one of the creatures had ripped it off him while he lay motionless…he is still quite traumatised…I don't think…I don't think he'll ever be himself again…things changed a lot in such little time. I hardly can accept this myself…' the boy's eyes started to narrow with pain.

'Thanks for your effort, kid…if anything else happens will you please be so kind to inform us…?' Laguna asked with some difficulty.

'I will.' The boy answered raising his head.

'See you then, boy. We appreciate your help.' Laguna finished.

'Wait…' the boy interrupted with a hint of desperation in his voice.

'What is it?' Quistis said softly.

'All of you…you are SeeD's aren't you?'

'Not all…but we are on a mission set by Cid before his disappearance. We are all trying to find the man who did this to us…' Squall said.

'Can I ask you for something?' the boy asked.

'Go ahead…' Laguna smiled.

'Make him suffer…' the boys voice trembled with hate. 'Promise me that when you find him, you will make him die in the most painful of ways…I'd do it with my bare hands if I could…I want him to pay for my mother's and everyone else's death he caused. I want revenge, spill his blood for me…'

'Hold on there boy…don't let hatred control your life, you're too young to think like a mercenary…just be safe, take care of your brother and help reconstruct your home, but don't ever think like a murderer…it's not worth it. Life goes on…do your best to live with your loss, but never, never become like him…' Laguna said worriedly.

'…I don't care…I want him to suffer a painful death for what he did to my family… he destroyed my family! He wrecked my life! He's taking over the world…and all you can tell me is to have clean pure thoughts!' the boy's voice raised and now you could find wrinkles under his bleak green eyes that had bared no shine. This boy was too young for what he had suffered; You could now understand he had been forced to grow up.

'You have my word…' Squall answered bitterly as everyone turned to look at him…

'We will see to do so…' Quistis said.

'Thanks.' A skew sort of smile of hope and gratefulness grew on the boy's face and next he had vanished.

Quistis stored away the IC and stared out over the platform…

Zell was unusually silent, sitting on the remains of the broken wall with his face pillowed in his hand.

Irvine was too, very silent, he stood near the bushes that gave way into a dense forest with one hand on the trigger of his shot-gun and the other in his pocket.

Quistis let now tears creep down her pale face and Selphie walked up to her to hug her.

Rinoa sat next to Squall on the floor, leaning against a broken wall as he stared into the emptiness and tried to assimilate the information given moments ago…

Laguna gave some sympathetic words to Quistis and Selphie who now both cried silently.

A few silent moments had past and not a word from anyone. They were all silently grieving their loss. Balamb Garden would be no more and all the memories of it had died with it when it crashed… It was a home for most of them, a place of good memories and experiences they'd never forget. And now it was gone, just like that…

Something in the air made it clear that none of them would ever be the same again…

Their life had given a complete turn around and now more than ever they knew how this mission was important…

'Guys…I'm sorry to talk about this on such a moment of loss, but…right now we are the only hope of the entire world…their future is in our hands…we must go on…for them, for us…for everything and everyone we've lost…' tears flowed from Quistis's eyes.

Laguna now put his arm around her.

'I know it's hard, but we've got put this behind us now…' she wiped her tears away gently now.

'As SeeD's for our last mission…the last mission of Balamb Garden, we shall accomplish it victoriously to honour all we've learned and fought for all these years with so much effort…in memory of the ones we love, we shall fight until we can't no more…I know I can count on you…But to win this war, we need each other's strengh…' Quistis's voice now was stronger and firmer.

Squall, Rinoa and Irvine got up and approached Quistis, Selphie and Laguna, as well as Zell who took a little longer but straightened his face and tried his best not show how hurt he was.

'Thanks guys…' Quistis smiled.

'Together we can fight this man's evil, we did it before…we must do it once again…' Rinoa said.

'The strangest of all is the way he attacked everyone else but us…' Irvine said absentmindedly.

'It's simple…he destroyed everything dearest to us, to weaken us…to distract us…that's his intention…and in the process he killed hundreds of innocents…' Quistis explained.

'But not only…' Selphie said.

'He desperately looking for the Tear Blossom and until he finds it, he won't rest…but meanwhile his clearing the lands, killing people and destroying cities…that way he won't have any trouble building his kingdom…' said Irvine.

'It's not the Tear Blossom he's looking for…' Quistis said gravely.

The whole gang was now staring at her…

'_Too many people it's just a meaningless legend…but to me it's true. The Tear Blossom is nowhere to be found. He will never find it unless he gets his hands on the new sorceress. That way he will kill her and the legend shall repeat itself, just that he will be there to collect the plant and take its power when it blossoms again…the plant's and the sorceress's power, there is nothing more powerful than the two of these combined…if that happens, a Kingdom of Shadow and death shall reign the world until the end of time. ' _Ash's voice echoed in her head.

'I know what Sarakman's doing this for…' Quistis said.

'What are you talking about Quistis?' Rinoa asked worried.

Quistis looked into Rinoa's eyes with deep sorrow.

'Quistis's you're frightening us…tell us at once…' Selphie said.

'It's you he wants, Rinoa…' Quistis looked down.

'What?' Rinoa asked looking as puzzled as ever.

'But the Tear Blossom…sure he wants her power, but he needs the plant first, right?' Zell said.

'I thought so in the begging, why want a untrained sorceress's powers if he can have th Tear Blossom?…but it so turns out to be that in order to get the plant, he needs Rinoa, the sorceress of this generation. The Tear Blossom will only appear if…if Rinoa…if she dies…' Quistis's eyes lost their shine as she told them this.

Rinoa's heart now thumped stronger then ever and felt as if it could fail any moment now…

'All he needs now is Rinoa…if he can kill her himself, the Tear Blossom will appear like long ago when Queen Harath passed away and that way, he will collect it and become as powerful as no one has ever imagined…That's the truth…' Quistis said now staring into Laguna's eyes with a mix of fear and frustration.

Squall looked down at Rinoa and put his arm around her shoulder, worried about her. Looking at her with reassurance and making her feel safe…

'Little does he know that she's with us, let alone here…that's why he's destroying every town and city he can find…he knows we're after him…he knows he has little time…' Quistis said.

'But then, this doesn't make sense…' Irvine muttered. ' Why is Ganahir so deserted?…The people are gone…there are only troops roaming around here…'

'Maybe they're imprisoned, it's a small village…he can easily lock them up in there…' Zell suggested.

'Gosh I hope he didn't kill them…the whole race of Ganahir would be lost, it's genocide…' Selphie's voice trembled.

'Not all of them…' Zell said absentmindedly.

'Huh?' Irvine looked at his pal.

'I don't know…but we've got to move and quick. But we can't put Rinoa's life at risk…It is imperative that we keep her hidden from him…if he catches her…it's the end…' Squall said now breaking the silence with great sorrow in his voice and sadness, though he tried to maintain his firm voice.

'But I want to help, Squall! I can help…I don't want you guys to go without me…I don't want to be alone…where will I go…?' Rinoa started to panic, feeling like some lost child in a big forest.

'I don't know…you'll need to hide…somewhere safe…in the forest maybe…but if we don't make it…you must get out of here…you have to save yourself…' Squall looked at her with great pain in his deep blue eyes.

Rinoa kept silent and stared into his eyes with tears growing in her beetle black ones.

Squall turned around and put his arm around Rinoa's shoulder, taking her to a place they couldn't be seen by the others, where they could talk quietly without being heard seen…

It was dark here, they had walked around the corner and the light here was dim. The moon was full and it had started to snow gently…

'Rin…' Squall bent his head down to look at her and put both of his hands o her shoulders.

'Look at me, Rin…' he murmured.

Rinoa looked up.

Squall held her chin with his fingers gently, came closer and kissed her sweetly on her warm salty lips from her tears.

Rinoa felt warmth invade her body and stared into his blue eyes that now reminded her of the blue of the sky on a summer sunset.

'How I've longed for that…' he whispered an inch from her lips.

'Squall…I can't make it… without you… I can't…I don't want to be alone…' she said trying to hold back more tears.

'Not here…I hate this place…I don't want to be here alone…I'll just die if anything happens to you…I won't be able to go on…my heart will get sick and I'll die…I need to be with you…I need to fight by your side! 'Rinoa's eyes narrowed as she tried to tame her impulses…

'Rin, you've fought enough…it's in our hands now. You did your part faithfully, but it's up to us to finish it, not you. I don't want to leave you…but I have to…you have to be strong! This is a life or death situation. It's just for a while, until I return…until this is over. I'll come back for you. I promise… ' he tried his best to get trough to her.

Rinoa threw her arms around his neck as she started to sob uncontrollably.

'I'm scared…' she whispered.

'I know you are and I'm scared too 'cause I don't want to loose you; you know that…But I promise that soon it will all be over. It's just one step from ending, one step and it's over…'

'Don't dare getting killed and leave me, you hear?' Rinoa pulled from the hug and gave him a small smile.

Squall smiled back at her and kissed her gently.

'You're so beautiful…' he cupped her head in his hand and caressed her hair and he contemplated her features.

Rinoa just stared back at him as if she missed him already.

'I'll be strong…' she whispered

'It's a hard life Rin, nothing is easy in this life. We've got to fight to survive. It's just the way it goes…and I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I'm so sorry you have to hurt and suffer so much…but I'm going to protect you, no matter what it takes. I'm going to fight for you until my last breath, Rinoa. Just know that.' Squall murmured glaring at her.

Rinoa looked up at his liquid eyes and now the expression on her face was undecipherable.

She slipped her fingers down his cheek and just looked in his eyes with the kindest, strongest love that one cannot put in words.

Squall felt a vibration in his body, an impulse to take her and share what he was feeling with her. A feeling that would practically knock her off her feet with such strength and intensity. But it wasn't the time or place. The love blossoming so intensely in his chest almost about to burst it open had to wait for when he came back for her. There was a mission to complete, one that would determine their existence.

To be continued…

Okey Dokey…So…was that bad? Good? Or dreadful? Please forgive me for taking so long…The end is near…to my horror. I can see that the story has been boring you…I know it slows down a bit, there's not so much action or romance in these parts, but that's always normal in a story, I suppose. You can't always get what you want… »:P But hold your horses! Some really weird things are going to happen… Romance is gonna flow once again, this time to 's side…

Ash is gonna come back…by the way, what do you think about him? Does he annoy you?

Oh! And Angelo…well yeah…I did quite forget about him here, but he's quite a pain in the neck if he's always gonna be behind Rinoa, no? Besides the creature only appears in her Limit Break. I don't think he's necessary here (sorry Angelo!). Maybe he'll still pop up who knows…

I want to thank all the reviewers for reading and reviewing (I'd add ur names but I couldn't remember them-no internet) And give a very special hug to my best friend on the planet – Maf GoldenHeart! I'm so sorry I couldn't review ur fic properly. But I will as soon as my PC is up and ready again, ok?

Thank you all 4 reading, from the bottom of my heart. It means a lot to me. :-) Luv u all!


	29. Chapter 29

**Part 29:**

The comrades were as silent as ever. It seemed as if they were travelling to their own doom. Balamb Garden was gone, Cid was nowhere to be found, practically every town was being taken over and destroyed and innocent people died as every minute went by…

All they could do right now, was do their best and find this evil man who wanted the sorceress's sacrifice so much he was willing to kill every single person on earth until he found her. Their hearts were broken, feeling fragile and vulnerable by knowing what was left of their lives back home. But there had to be strength, they had to save what was left of it and try to rebuild when everything was right again…

The SeeD's had started to make their way into the downhill forest that leaded to the gigantic water-filled crater.

The forest was very humid here, there was a thick fog covering the tree tops and it had stopped snowing. The climate here was extremely weird and unbalanced.

The comrades tried to hurry through the dense forest with soft swift steps, guiding themselves by a compos Zell carried around his wrist. They were being successful so far.

After what seemed like hours of speeding through the forest, dawn had approached and as the sun rose slowly, they decided to make a fire and rest their legs for a while.

Laguna and Irvine had occupied themselves with building a fire and Quistis talked to Squall softly, while Rinoa sat on small stone near Laguna and Irvine listening to their casual conversation about different methods of starting a fire or thinking about what she was to face sooner or later. Zell had gone to look for water, seeing this as an excuse to be on his own. He felt terribly down, like his life had been torn out of a book and thrown into the flames of a hungry fire. Mother Zincht could be dead or hurt and just the though of that made him want to run back home to look for her. But this mission was far from accomplished and these two matters divided him painfully into two halves. There was nothing that could ever make him smile again, he thought. His home was destroyed, Garden was gone, and the two things with greater importance in his life had silently disappeared. Right now, his only strength was the hatred and despise he had for who had done this to him and the intense want of getting revenge. This strength was so strong; he could feel the veins in his wrists and arms throb every time the name of that man was said.

When everything was ready, they had gathered around the fire, waiting for Zell to return.

'Zell's gone to fill the deposits of water…he should be back soon if he's lucky enough to find some.' Said Selphie to whom Zell had talked before leaving, with a gloomy expression on her face as she sat down besides Laguna.

'He's mad…' Irvine said who sat on the other side of Laguna.

'He's trying to help. You know well we can't go without it…' Selphie answered back not bothering to look at him.

'One wouldn't think this place had any rivers…he's probably up to something, I'd say!…' Irvine said.

Selphie turned her neck and gave him a dirty look.

Irvine looked at Quistis and shrugged his shoulders bleakly.

After a few moments of silence, Squall who sat next to Rinoa, looked at her tightly embracing her legs with her chin leaned on her knees, staring into the flames as if they were more than what met the eye.

He didn't know what to do. He didn't know where to leave her in safety. He didn't know if leaving here on her own was a good idea…Nothing was planned, this was all very recent and he didn't know if anything would turn out as he hoped they would. At this point he wasn't sure of anything and it cost him his heart to just leave her in some unknown place to herself. He didn't want her to feel what he felt a while ago. Completely alone and forgotten. It wasn't her case, but he was sure that if this mission took as long as he knew it would take, he was certain that loneliness and a feeling of loss and abandonment would torment her at night. It was the way things were, whether they liked it or not. It was hard, but it had to be done. For everyone's good. The selfish need of wanting to be in each others arms and forgetting about the world was right now to be put aside. This cost Squall a greater deal than anyone imagined. It was fear of loss that haunted him. Fear of leaving her here and knowing there was a possibility of this war being lost and him not being able to say goodbye. Fear of never looking into those pure loving eyes again. It was a sensation similar to a creature grabbing his insides and squashing them with all its force. But one had to go on…

Zell had walked quite a distance away from the others, following the rocks that seemed to be more abundant to the Northwest, hoping he'd find something. Thoughts of violence ran through his head, painful ones too, but he tried to shove them out of his head, for he knew these would just weaken him. He preferred to feel furious and full of rage and hate. It was when his strength was at its top. And though inside, he felt numb and hurt, thoughts of revenge would keep him going until he found something that would truly give him strength to go on living. But he doubted that something would ever exist. His life was in Balamb. Nothing could replace home, he thought. It was his whole past that had been erased without his consent, leaving behind nothing but slums. He felt as if once this revenge was taken, the meaning in his life would be gone. His job would be done and there was no more to live for. That was the way things would go now…

At a certain point of following the traits of rocks, he had discovered caves, covered with moss and ivy, practically unidentifiable if not observed with proper attention.

A small frown had appeared on his face as he stood there observing the caves. He then approached slowly, intrigued by its complexion and entering the dense cover of creeping plants and finding himself in a totally darkened ambient, it smelled intensely like wet earth in there and a peaceful crinkling sound was heard from a little deeper into the cave.

'Water…' he whispered to himself as he reached to guide himself towards the sound by the walls.

The earth beneath his feet was hard and as he went deeper, it had become of stone as he expected. Zell reached for the torch in his belt and turned it on, scouring around for the source of fresh water he was hearing. Finally, when he moved his torch a little further, he could see something shining in the distance, hidden between rocks on an elevation that started right by his feet. If he hadn't turned on the torch, he would have tripped and hurt himself. He now with the torch in his mouth, climbed the rocks as the sound became clear and louder. He was thirsty and was ready to collect bottles for the others too. When he reached the top, he found himself on sort of miniature cliff, where beneath him was a small current of crystal clear water and on the other side a cascade of water feeding the little creek.

'Whoa…' he whispered as he walked towards the cave's walls to try and reach the miniature fall of water and fill his deposit. He then, dropped the torch that now remained on, supported himself on the wall, stretched his arm and felt the cool fresh water touch his hand. This caused a soft smile of delight on his face, like a little boy who is presented with a brand new toy car... He then greedily clapped his hand to his mouth and drank, closing his eyes and holding the water in his mouth enjoying its cool taste and swallowing it finally when he was ready for more. He had no idea how thirsty he was until the moment that water had touched his lips.

When he finally drank himself to satisfaction, Zell reached for the deposit that hung from his belt. He slid the lid open and stretched it towards the waterfall to get it filled, but as he almost got to it, he felt overwhelming pain in his side, making him gasp with pain, taking all the air out of his lungs. He turned around to look at his side and saw that he had a small and delicate wooden arrow stuck in his flesh and then he looked behind him and saw a shadow of a small person with long wavy hair. He now felt the deposit slip out of his hand as the pain spread through his whole body. His feet gave in, the deposit now hung from his belt dangling violently and not knowing anymore what was happening to him, he accidentally moved backward, unbalanced as he was, kicking the torch down the small creek. And now as he closed his eye-lids, feeling himself drift away into unconsciousness, he fell of the rock and dived backward into the water unconscious. The water made way; pulling him in, taking him to the bottom as now he was completely submerged. With no air in his lungs he sunk down slowly, his blond hair covering his face like silky seaweed and his lifeless limbs stretched before him vulnerably.

Rinoa felt she was being watched, turning her face slightly to confirm her intuition and found herself looking into his eyes. Squall's expression was grave and thoughtful. She gave a reassuring smile that cost her all the scraps of happiness that remained in her, but Squall knew what she felt. He stretched his arm and slid his hand around hers, crossing his fingers through hers and giving a firm grip that gave her a sensation of protection and comfort.

Squall then loosened their grip and faced the others.

'It's time we find a place for Rinoa to stay…' said Squall curtly.

Rinoa's mouth went dry…

'But Zell's not back yet…' Irvine said with a tone of worry in his voice.

'We don't have much time. Let's just hope we'll find him on our way… ' Squall answered him.

His body felt as if it were numb and a shadow of a small figure with long wavy hair replayed itself in his mind over and over again. Then he could see the arrow pierced into his flesh and the veins under the skin turn blue. A feeling of burning up, and then a sudden numbness invading his body. Helpless, falling backwards, the water sucking him in to its deepness and an underwater cave revealed that prolonged itself infinitely into complete darkness. The last bits of oxygen were vacuumed out of his chest. And then, a hand grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and a sudden defining silence…

His eyes opened wide and he gasped for a sore, deep breath as if he hadn't been breathing for a long time…

It was dark, but he could make out where he was. He was still in the cave. He still struggled to breath and when he looked sideways, he saw the same shadow with long wavy hair. Zell kept silent and tried to get up, but felt an excruciating pain on his side as he tried to. He noticed that he was sopping wet and somehow the heaviness of his clothes was unbearable.

'Keep still…' said a familiar soft sweet scratchy voice.

'Urgh…' Zell moaned as he dropped back onto the floor.

He now realised that she was kneeled next to him.

'W-Who… are you?' Zell winced grabbing his side.

'I'm sorry…' she said gravely.

Zell looked at the shadow.

'I thought you were one of the Serpents…that's why I aimed at you…' she explained.

'I don't suppose I look like one…!' Zell grumbled.

'No…actually you don't…the serpents are… taller…' she said as a matter of factually.

'Hey…urgh..what are you insinuating!' he winced.

'Don't move…you're still very tense. The poison isn't totally neutralized!' she said worriedly as she pushed him back onto the ground.

'Ouch…' he wined.

'Just keep still or you'll damage your muscles…' she said.

'You put poison on those things!' Zell asked astonished.

'Well, yes…its more effective, you see…but I said I'm sorry, I really didn't know it was you…' she explained in a worried tone.

'You…didn't know it was me? How come?... Do we know each other!' Zell asked now very curious.

'Well…not really. We met once…I mean…actually…' the girl tried to explain but was interrupted by Zell.

'I want to see you…' Zell winced as he tried to sit up.

'No! keep still!...'her voice raised in worry, placing her hands on his chest to push him back down, but unsuccessfully.

'Urgh…' Zell had sat up with some effort, feeling the flesh on his side hard as a brick.

Zell then without a word reached for his torch, but realised he had lost it…

'Where's my torch!' he grumbled.

'I couldn't find it…I think it got washed away into the underwater cave…'

'I need to see you…' he said softly.

'Nonsense…just rest, alright? I'm gonna get you some water. I'll be back now.' She said, lifting up and walking away.

'Urgh…' Zell dropped himself back onto the ground, closing his eyes.

Suddenly the ground had escaped from him and he felt as if he were falling, and now a hand had grabbed his arm gently, he woke up.

'Ah...' he opened his eyes wide.

'Calm down…it's just the poison wearing off, don't worry. Here, drink this…' she had come back.

Zell got up with her help and took small sips from a small bowl.

The girl walked away and when she came back a spark was born on the ground next to Zell. A little fire was consuming the twigs she had placed unevenly on the ground. Zell could now see the way she was dressed. She had her back faced to him.

This girl had long dark wavy hair until her elbows that had a beautiful peculiarity of finishing in shiny little spirals. She was wearing a grey tunic tightened around her hips with a leather belt and pair of baggy black pants with knee-high leather boots that never made the faintest sound while she walked, unless the ground was sandy.

'Let me see you…' asked Zell softly, supporting himself on his elbows.

The girl turned around and walked up to him.

'There's nothing to see…I'm just a girl. Like any other.' She smiled kneeling next to him and pulling his waistcoat open to look at the wound.

'I-It's you…' he whispered in surprise.

'Do you recognize me, now?' she asked smiling and washing the wound with a damp cloth.

'We met a few hours ago…I caught you!...by accident…' he said the last words shamefully.

'Oh, yes and you left some bruises too…couldn't forget about you, could I?…' she chuckled, showing her wrists.

'I did! I'm so sorry…' Zell got up, gave a quick wince and took her hands into his, rubbing them with his fingers gently.

'I-It's ok…' she pulled her hands back shyly.

'I'm tough. I just…bruise easily, that's all…' she smiled nervously.

Zell stared at her, while she took care of his wound.

'Who are you?' he asked gently taking her face into his hand and making her look at him.

He saw now how truly beautiful she was. Her gleaming, peculiarly coloured eyes that reminded him of the sea on a stormy day, her round little nose and her small rosy lips that almost never broke into a smile. Her serious expression was so intriguing, it made Zell want to observe her all day. The weirdest of all, was that this pale, beautiful face was hurt. She had small injuries that were almost healed, like scratches and small sores on her forehead like she had been knocked on her head a few times.

She stared into his eyes for some time, thinking. But then a frown grew upon her face and she turned her face away and got up.

'Why won't you tell me?' Zell murmured frowning.

'There's no time for this…you must get out of here before they find you...it's too dangerous out here. I can't keep you here…' her voice went frighteningly serious and cold.

'What?' Zell tried to get up, but having his knees weaken. He got on his knees and slowly got up and walked over to her.

'Too dangerous?...Girl, do you even know who I am?' Zell was now right behind her.

'I know you shouldn't be here…' she said gravely.

'You must think I'm here because I had nothing else to do…well then, know that I'm on a mission…a very important one…' He said proudly.

The girl turned around to look at him.

'You? On a mission?' the girl said in disbelief.

'Yeah…' he said with a small grin, thinking it would impress her.

'I'm a professional mercenary…' he explained.

The girl stared at him and seemed to have noticed something that shocked her.

'Don't you play the fool with me, boy!' the girl reached for a knife out of her belt and leaned it against his throat threateningly.

'Whoa, whoa…hold on!' Zell froze swallowing dryly.

'Who are you!... You've followed me! Haven't you!...' she groaned through her teeth giving him a shake on his arm.

'Hey…I'm a good guy! I-I mean no harm to you…'

'What? You expect me to believe you when you wear a spy's clothes?' the girl grabbed a little broche he carried on his waistcoat with an odd symbol that resembled knots and spirals.

'You don't understand! It was part of the mission to…'

'You lie!...' she groaned furiously.

'No I don't!' Zell said frustrated, grabbing the knife out of her hand and taking her wrists in his hand and throwing the knife into one of the walls.

'I didn't follow you…' Zell gasped.

'You're a spy! You're being paid to find every last one of us and take us into that hell hole and turn us into his prisoners! I know a spy when I see one!' she hissed.

'Is that so?' Zell was loosing his patience.

'Well then your eyesight must be quite bad...' he now dragged her out of the cave and they were now in the light.

The girl moaned with the brightness of the light, covering her face with her arm.

'It seems you've been in there too long…' he said to himself observing her reaction to the light.

'Look at me!' he took her face in his hand again.

She looked at him, puffing with rage.

'You're going to pay for what you've done to us…helping the Serpents…destroy my home!'

'What are you saying?' Zell pulled her closer.

'I've seen a guy like you once…turning into one of them…I know your type…you'll do anything to be the most powerful one's right arm!' she hissed.

'Who are you talking about?' Zell asked puzzled.

'Almasy…Seifer Almasy…a traitor to his people and to us!'

'I knew it!' Zell whispered victoriously shaking his fist.

'Oh…and I see you were friends too...well I hope you both get what you deserve! Murderers!' she yelled trying to shake herself loose.

'Hey! Speak softly! I can hear what you're saying just fine!' he yelled back at her.

'Let go of me…traitor…' she gave him a threatening look.

'Look at me, girl!' Zell's voice went serious.

The girl was pulled closer to him and now was face to face with Zell.

He looked down at her, right into her deep indigo eyes and she looked into his electric blue ones.

'Do you see a traitor?' he murmured not blinking once.

The girl kept silent and then swerved her eyes.

'Na-ah!' Zell said now forcing her face him.

'What do you see?' he asked softly.

'I shouldn't have annulled the poison…you don't fool me…' she whispered.

'I don't have to…spys never look you in the eye, do they?…it makes them vulnerable…you should know that, seeing as you're so sure I'm one.' Zell murmured harmoniously.

He sort of enjoyed this moment. Her eyes made him curious and gave him a weird feeling inside. He just couldn't keep his eyes off hers. He refused to end the moment, now that it was just the both of them.

'You're a good one…I saw your lying grin…I recognised it…I know you better than you think…I can't tell…' she started, but was cut off by Zell

'What can you tell of me?' he asked.

The girl kept silent.

'I thought so…' Zell said triumphantly.

'I should've let you drown…' she said through gritted teeth.

A few dark silent moments went by and the girl was now tired, trying to fight back her tears of fury and anger.

Zell looked at her and then feeling guilty for what he was submitting her to, he looked away and bit his lip nervously.

'Hey…look…please don't…how am I going to tell you that I mean you no harm?' he asked more to himself than to her.

'I'm here on a mission with some other mercenaries, friends of mine…we've come to free your people, to stop the mad guy from destroying what's left…to kill him before…the end of everything comes…' he said now in a shallow voice.

Expecting her to calm down, Zell let go of her. But to his horror she took advantage of this moment to fragilise him. She gave him a knee kick in the area any man would rather ask not to. This made Zell get weak in his knees and collapse in pain. But before she could get away, he grabbed her foot and pulled her down. She tripped and fell right beside him with a squeak.

Zell grabbed the back of her neck, still wincing in pain and forced her to look his way…

He now saw tears in her eyes. Of what? He didn't know. Maybe of hatred, pain, rage, fury, fear, desperation, and anxiety…he couldn't tell. Her eyes did not only flood in tears, but also cried for themselves. He noticed it there, in her eyes, a burning pain and distrust like no other.

She stared back at him as if to tell him, no matter what he did, she'd never fall in his game. What game! There was no such thing! He was honest. He meant her well…!

Then something strange happened. Time seemed to move slower in that moment of crossed stares. Zell tried to tell her through his mind that he wasn't who she though he was. That since the last time he saw her, he couldn't get those bright indigo eyes out of his mind. But then he limited himself to stare at her, his hand around the back of her neck, where he could feel the warm soft touch of her angelical hair and skin. And before he knew it he was asking her something she could not answer…

'Where have you been?' he whispered breathing slowly and continuing to gaze into her indefinable coloured eyes. He could sense she was frightened, but there was no reason to, was there?

'All this time…where have you been…?' he whispered now caressing her hair.

The girl's eyes now showed panic…

'I won't hurt you…' Zell said now pulling himself closer to her, so she could feel his breath on her face. Zell didn't know what he was doing. He had never had dared to do this to anyone else, but the impulse in him was so strong; he could not deny it…

'Just…' his expression now was of a sweet smile.

He came closer, so that his torso laid over hers. The girl's heart thumped so intensely you could almost hear it. But she could've pushed him away if she wanted to. But that wasn't the case, was it? She lay there with her hair splashed on the ground, her small lips parted slightly and her eyes wide open, observing him attentively. She saw something in his eyes, she had never seen before. What it was, she didn't know, but it was what she silently longed for deep in her heart. That rare gentle look that promised something she could not hear…

Zell stared at her lips and then back into her eyes.

'Will I ever see you again?' Zell whispered.

The girl remained silent staring into his eyes.

'What now?...you don't speak?' Zell smiled.

The girl kept her gaze on him.

'Get off me…' the girl murmured watching him attentively.

'Get up…I'm not stopping you…' he smiled.

The girl narrowed her eyes and with a brisk move she raised her head from the ground, guessing that he would move out of the way...but he didn't and before she new it her face was touching his and he had his lips on hers in a small sweet kiss. And then he parted to observe her reaction. She stared back in his eyes and seized his bottom lip between her teeth, making Zell panic when she gave it a painful nibble which made him moan and become limp. Then when she finally let go she pushed him away, making him fall on his back as she got up furiously.

Zell who still lay on the ground, let a wide smile grow on his face, touching his lips with his fingers and realising he was bleeding..

'Argh!' he heard the girl scream in distress.

Zell, confused turned around to stare at her and saw three hooded figures. Serpents, he thought. And one had taken hold of the girl. She tried to fight her way out of his reach by wailing her arms and legs. Then he stared at the other two and saw that they had their crossbows pointed at him. And before he knew it the creaking sound of the bow had released an arrow and next was a painful sting in his stomach and a excruciating pain spreading through his whole body. But he got up. He stared down and realised he had just been shot with an arrow.

'Urgh…!' he felt pain when he tried to breathe in.

'Let go of me!' she yelled after hitting one of the Serpents with her elbow in the face.

Zell bit his already bleeding lip and with all his might, he pulled the arrow out with a strong, firm grip and threw it aside after giving a loud yell.

He looked back at the Serpents and saw that they still had their arrows pointed at him and then at the girl who was being held by one of the Serpents and tried to fight herself out of its reach. She managed to weal herself out of the hooded man's reach by this time punching him in the stomach with her elbow…

Zell then, feeling rather weak, marched up to the one that gave the girl trouble and punched him in the face, blowing him onto the ground brutally. Then he felt the other serpent's hands from behind trying to strangle him. Zell grabbed its arms and squeezed them as tight as he possibly could until he managed to hear the Serpent emit a muffled sound of pain and let go of his neck. He then grabbed the Serpent's arms and swung him over his head, into the air and BANG right on the ground creating a cloud of dust. He then looked for the other Serpent but he had got up and disappeared. Zell turned around and saw that it had insisted to bother the girl, so he crept up behind it and kicked it in the back, making it jerk to the front as if broken in half and fell onto the ground with a loud thump.

'You ok?' he asked wincing and before she could even open her mouth, Zell, holding tight onto his stomach where he had been hit, marched up to the other Serpent who tried to get up and made his famous heel drop…and the Serpent had disappeared. It was on that instant that he felt a blow on his head, making him fall flat face onto the ground and feeling as if his head were to fall off.

But he eyes opened when he heard the girl gasping as she fought. Zell grabbed the last bits of strength in him and got up. He turned around and found himself face to face with another Serpent and immediately took a fighting position, jumping up and down slightly and shaking his head to keep conscious.

The Serpent threw a fist at him, but Zell as the expert in martial arts, swerved it and took hold of its arm, danced to its side and thrust his elbow into the Serpent's stomach and then he punched him in the face until the fell onto the ground and disappeared.

Zell bent forward and supported his hands on his knees, taking in a breath or two and without a blink he was limping himself up to the other Serpent that now had about three of the girls arrows in its flesh, but kept a tight grip on the girl's wrists.

And without making himself seen, Zell grabbed onto the Serpents shoulders and tightened his grip so that it would let go of the girl. And when the Serpent turned around to fight Zell, he had banged its head between his hands, making the Serpent bend forward and growl in pain.

Zell, clutching his hand to his wound still managed to express a triumphal grin on his face. But he didn't expect the Serpent to react too quickly.

Before Zell could defend himself the Serpent had grabbed him on his arms and lifted him into the air and next he was forcing him against a tree trunk. Zell already feeling weak, jerked his head a few times, trying to release himself but the Serpent was now in control and now with its hand holding the collar of his neck was taking a dagger out of its cloak. This wasn't any old dagger; it had a creature on the handle that growled in his face. Zell felt cold sweat drip from his forehead as he focused on the disgusting drooling creature. He took all his might and with a loud yell, he clutched his hands around the serpent's ones with all the strength he had left, tried to undo its grip on him. But he was too weak, after this he was exhausted and the dagger was closer to his neck.

Zell shut his eyes tightly. Now he felt the grip around his neck weaken and he had now had dropped down at the tree's feet.

Zell opened his eyes and realised that the Serpent was now at his own feet too. And the girl stared down at it with horror in her face and a small steel axe had fallen from her delicate hands onto the ground.

Zell stared at her and realised that she had just saved his life. But at the precise moment when he tried to get up, he felt his stomach tighten. He supported himself against the tree and stared at the ground as he felt a unexplainable pain travel through his whole body again. He closed his eyes and blinked, his stomach tightened again, this time so painfully he gasped. The girl started to worry.

Zell feebly stepped over the Serpent's dead body and walked limping away from the girl.

Feeling his limbs numb, he dropped onto his knees as he gasped tiredly…and then as he heard the girl walk up to him, he feebly tried to get back up on his feet and with all his might, he put one foot in front, bending forward a little with the intense pain in his stomach. The girl, suffering a brutal change of heart, tried to help to support him under his arm, but Zell stretched his arm backwards and signalled for her to keep away and walked feebly away into the forest, clutching his stomach and wincing as he went and disappeared…

He walked feebly into the woods, his hand tightly clutched to his stomach and leaning against trees as he felt himself weaken, bit by bit.

'Whoa…' he murmured to himself as he felt his open wound burn so painfully it brought tears to his eyes.

He had walked quite some paces away from where the girl was and realised he was not apt to go any further. He didn't know what was happening to him, but he knew it had something to do with the arrow that had stung into his flesh earlier by one of the Serpents.

Zell wrapped one arm around a tree trunk, fearing he'd loose his balance and fall. Next was his stomach contracting so tightly, he bent forward with the intense pain and before he knew it, he was retching.

It was a horrible sensation and it seemed to not want to stop…his stomach would contract after trying standing up straight, it almost felt as if he were going to regurgitate his own stomach if he couldn't stop… His already sucked in tattooed face was as pallid as it had never been before…

He was really not ok. And the last thing he wanted was for anyone to see him like this.

**To be continued… **

* * *

Was that or wasn't it an original way for a chapter's end:D

Well I hope it got a little more interesting for you. At least this part! Please review! I've got my PC and internet back! Yay! Hope you enjoyed this! Thank you so much for reading! Really :') It makes me so happy. Thanks to all the reviewers!


	30. Chapter 30

**Part 30:**

'I see someone's footsteps here…' Rinoa said pointing at the ground, making everyone turn around to go and look.

'Zell…' Squall murmured.

'He can't be far…let's just keep following…quick…' Quistis said following another path that revealed more footsteps.

The comrades walked for quite a while until they heard a rattling in the bushes. Everyone froze.

'Irvine made signal that the sound had come from his side and so went in to the darkened tangle of bushes and out of sight.

They couldn't hear anything after that, so worried and looking at each other with anticipation written on their faces, they waited. And then, as they had almost got used to the silence, a loud squeak far behind them could be heard. Squall, without hesitating ran towards the sound, having the others follow him. He then disappeared into the bushes and ran as fast as he could until a person had run into him. He immediately grabbed the person and soon realised it was a young girl.

'Let go of me!' she groaned, throwing her hands at Squall's neck viciously.

'What are you doing here?' Squall put her down, bent over and held her by her shoulders.

'Who are you to ask me that! Get out of my way! I need to find my brother!' she yelled.

'What's the matter!' Squall asked noticing her desperation.

'It's none of your business!' she groaned trying to free herself.

'Maybe I can help. Tell me. Did they see you?' Squall asked gently.

'No! None of that…a person's been poisoned! I need to find my brother or the boy will die!' she cried.

'Who is he!' Squall asked instinctively.

'…I…I don't know…! Just let me go! Please! He can't die!' the girl cried now with sorrow in her voice.

'Where can we find this boy!' Squall realised she could only be talking about Zell and started to worry.

'What's it to you!' she groaned cheekily.

'He's one of us, a SeeD, isn't he?' Squall asked frowning in panic.

'SeeD? He said no such thing… He just mentioned he was a professional mercenary and I though he was lying…but he ended up saving me from the Serpents…and now he's been hit by a Serpent's arrow! I don't have an antidote! My brother is the only one who knows what to do! That's why I have to find him!' she explained with tears in her eyes already.

'Where is he!' Squall shook her without thinking.

'Why should I tell you! How do I know you don't want to hurt him?' she asked frowning as a little tear fell across her face.

'You're going to have to trust me. He's my friend. I can't let anything bad happen to him. I'm responsible for him.' Squall explained staring directly into her eyes.

'…b-by the caves…go northwest from here…he should be close by, he couldn't go to far…now please let me go!' she hiccoughed and shook herself loose.

'Go find your brother…quick!' Squall murmured letting her go. And she disappeared.

Squall ran with all his might in the direction she indicated and confirmed her instruction as he reached a stonier area. He then scoured around and discovered the hidden caves, but knew he wouldn't be in there, for as she said he was close by…but where!

Squall had no choice but to follow his intuition and search the area.

Suddenly from close by he heard someone moan. He was close by. Squall ran as quick as he could and soon he had encountered the sorriest image of Zell he had ever seen.

He was bent over back faced to Squall, clutching his stomach and had his arm wrapped around a tree to support himself, then out of nothing Zell jerked and started to vomit and chocke afterwards, when the rest of the gang had appeared in the same place with Squall.

Squall ran up to Zell and gripped him under his arm to support him.

Zell looked up at Squall and his face was so pale it had turned blue, the tattoo on his young face still as visible as ever and small little weak smile grew across Zell's face as he stared into Squall's worried liquid eyes.

He had no idea why this happened, Zell looked rather weakened and half conscious of what was happening. He lifted up his gloved hand with metal knuckles and pointed out his finger as if he were going to reckon something, but the moment he opened his mouth to speak, he seemed to loose all his strength and passed out at Squall feet…

'Zell!' Selphie squeaked.

'What's wrong with him?' Quistis ran up to Squall and kneeled next to Zell, taking his head in her arms and clearing his wet hair out of his face.

'I think he's been poisoned…' Squall said.

'He's completely wet…' Quistis noticed.

'We've got to get him out of here and warmed up…before he gets even more ill.' Squall said bending down to look at Zell, who now more than ever looked like a little boy who slept through his fever.

Squall then took Zell's limp arm and hung it over his neck.

Laguna then marched up and took the other arm.

'There are caves nearby…' Squall said.

'This way guys!' Laguna said to the others.

'Is he going to be ok?' Rinoa whispered at Quistis.

Quistis looked at her with a daze in her eyes and remained silent.

'Geezz!' Selphie squeaked as she looked at Irvine and then turned her face away quickly.

'What!' Irvine asked her as he clutched one hand over his eye.

'Your eye…its…blue…' she said now looking worried.

'Oh…this…' Irvine responded in a dry tone and turned away.

Selphie looked at him and recognised the hurt in his tone of voice and eyes. But now wasn't the time to feel sorry for what she had done. Zell wasn't ok. Personal issues had to wait.

Zell's feet were dragged on the floor as he was carried by Squall and Laguna to the caves.

'It seems someone has been here already…' Laguna commented as he saw that the cave was lit by a small fire as he helped Squall to drop Zell gently onto the ground.

Just then, the girl came walking into the cave. Everyone turned around and gave way to her.

The girl immediately kneeled on the ground next to Zell and started to empty her bag at his side. She took a little delicate plant out of it and started to tare it to pieces into a small bowl. She then as tears started to flood her face, took a piece of carbonised wood from the small fire, undid it into ash in her fingers and sprinkled it into the recipient and finally dropped a few drops of water into the mixture from Zell's water deposit and started to grind it with a wooden instrument. Then she put the bowl down gently at Zell's side and began to undress Zell's top part while Squall helped to lift him up as she worked.

She then touched the wound on his stomach with her bare fingers and covered it with the ointment she had made. Taking the end of her tunic and tore the end off around her waist and began to bandage Zell's abdomen…

Now the girl took out of the leather bag a small little brass pot and a jar with some herb in it.

Zell looked very pale still and rather thin now that he was undressed. You could even count his ribs. This long painful journey had changed a lot of things. But the comrades were firm as ever and would fight until they could no more. Though in Zell's case, his body's state did reveal his mind's. But the moment his eyes laid upon this mysterious girl's he felt something in him change. A strength that hadn't been present in him for very long. He did not know why he felt this way, but to him this girl was in the oddest of ways, was important to him, even though their encounter hadn't been what you could call too friendly, he knew there was a strong connection between them the first time his eyes met with hers.

She was making some infusion with herbs that had a peculiar addicting smell. The smell would go through your nose and reach your brain so powerfully it would make you feel as if you were invincible and so full of life it would take more than one death to eliminate you. It was like a mind-booster or something of the kind.

And when the girl had prepared the infusion, Squall helped to hold Zell up, to force some of it into his system.

'Who is she?' Rinoa asked Laguna lowering her voice.

'Squall said she witnessed the Serpents attack Zell…apparently, she knows what she's doing…' Laguna explained.

'Do you think she'll cure Zell?' Selphie asked Laguna this time, as her chin twitched slightly for fighting her tears back.

'Let's hope so…' Laguna put his arm around Selphie and rubbed her arm fatherly.

'What exactly does this poison do?' Irvine asked the girl.

There was a great silence after this question and no doubt if Zell had been awake he'd have said in a mocking tone…'it poisons you!' after a loud contagious snort.

'…anyone who is unfortunate enough to be shot by this, hardly ever survives. And the ones who do…are never quite the same again…' The girl murmured in a hollow tone.

'You mean…he can…he can…die?' Quistis asked, hardly believing it.

The girl nodded as her eyes lowered to the ground.

'No…Zell wouldn't leave us…he's a strong guy. I'm sure he's strong enough. I mean look at him! Whoever knows this kid, knows that he's not a looser. Just get ready…before you know it…he'll be punching your nose for seeing him this way!' Irvine tried to raise their spirits. But Irvine knew himself that lately Zell wasn't at his best and his great loss didn't help either.

'But what do you mean, "who survives the poison, never is quite the same again"?' Squall asked.

The girl looked at Squall gravely.

'This poison is an evil creation. Only a man with wicked intentions could ever make such a thing…the moment it enters your system…and becomes part of your blood, it weakens not only the body, but the mind as well. Its effects as a poison are much more potent and quicker than any other ever known and have the power to destroy a man's mind. It can drain all thoughts from his head, the dearest memories, hopes, ambitions, dreams, love…It can destroy a man in a matter of hours. A man's body can be tough enough to recover, but the mind is something fragile and pure. The body is only the shell, for the mind is what brings life to it. And if it is destroyed, a man can only live a life of misery and darkness. Physically present, but spiritually gone. It can turn men with the purest of hearts into a ruthless beast. That's why people think its better to die than to survive when injected by this evil substance. Many of Sarakman's followers suffered the effects of the poison. Some were family men, who had dignifying jobs and lived a life of truth and honesty before they were changed into beasts of evil…Unfortunately, there's no turning back…Those men who lost their way by the hands of this poison, can never return to their old selves…' the girl explained, whipping a small tear from her eye and sobbing softly.

'Is the possibility of him returning to himself inexistent?' Quistis asked the girl in a shallow voice.

The girl poured some more of the infusion into Zell's mouth and then put the bowl down.

'I don't know…' she murmured staring at Zell with concern.

'What ever comes of this, we will deal with it…We can only expect the worse and hope for the best…' Squall murmured looking at his comrades.

'I know he has a strong mind…' Rinoa murmured getting up and coming closer to Zell and kneeling next to him.

After a little while, Squall took Rinoa's hand discreetly and wrapped his arm around her.

Quistis silently stood up, but Selphie grabbed her hand gently and stared at her worriedly.

'I'm going to catch a breath outside…' Quistis murmured at her.

Selphie nodded sniffing slightly.

Quistis looked at Selphie for a while and felt tears threaten to come to surface, but she looked away and walked out of the cave.

It was snowing, the trees glowed and the snow flakes would float down and touch her face softly intertwining through her golden strings of hair.

Quistis crossed her arms around her waist, reacting towards the cold. She contemplated the forest. It was so lonely here, almost scary, but at the same time here she found the peace she couldn't remember having found anywhere else. Balamb Garden, wasn't exactly the place you could find peace at, it was movement all day, students everywhere, piles of work to correct at her desk everyday. Duties that were exclusively hers. It was amazing how things had changed so much in such a short space of time. Things she hardly could assimilate herself and she had changed so much, but at the same time, she still felt like Instructor Trepe, just that now this Instructor had issues that a month or two ago, she would have felt ashamed to think of. It was much different now. She felt things she couldn't explain and she doubted anyone could ever understand her. All of her feelings contradicted her values and her beliefs. In such a state of mind, she was petrified of taking the wrong step and failing. It was something stronger than her. But she couldn't allow herself to go down, not now.

Quistis walked a bit further away from the cave the moment she spotted a yellow flower that lay at the foot of an oak tree.

She kneeled down, feeling the snow freeze her pants and make her knees burn, she didn't care. She stretched her hand and took the flower between her thin marble like fingers and observed attentively its petals.

She heard then a deep breath coming from the bushes near by and looked up immediately, feeling her heart race.

She could hear someone breathing slowly. It was heavy, deep, slow breaths, as if of a tough, big creature.

Her hyperactive imagination started to worry her, bringing unpleasant images into her head.

She slowly, trying not to make the smallest of sounds, tried to get on her feet again to get away from there. She felt that whatever was making those heavy, threatening sounds did not have good intentions. She had to get away, but now not making a sound was the hardest of all.

But before she could even put one foot straight on firm earth, the bushes rattled.

She raised her head and frightened, she felt her body freeze. It was too late to move away, it had sensed her presence and she had two choices: lift up and run or stay and suffer whatever consequences awaited her.

Before she could even blink, a black shadow had appeared from between the bushes. Now she was really petrified paralysed and she had fallen backwards, the flower had been ripped out of the ground and now was held tightly between her fingers as she stared, eyes wide open at the thing approaching.

It was coming forward and it revealed to be some kind of dark strong built quadruped creature that at every step forward made not the faintest noise. It was as time had stopped on that moment. It was just her and that creature. Everything else around her had stopped. The wind didn't seem to blow her hair gently out of her face and it had stopped there in the fading shadow staring at her so humanly, it made ice creep up her spine.

Its eyes were the creepiest of all, the colour of amber, contagious mad eyes that made her want to scream. These eyes had something strange about them; they had something in them, uncommon in any other creatures. They revealed something only a human could transmit; it was a man's look, not an animal's. She stared back into its eyes.

The animal finally showed itself into the light and she realised what it was.

It was a panther, its head lowered, examining its prey. Its eyes fixed on hers. One paw slowly paused in front of the other, challengingly or cautiously, she couldn't quite understand its behaviour. Its black fur covered in slow flakes, looked silky to the touch.

Suddenly she felt as if she had looked in these eyes before and yet she had encountered many creatures on the field, she had never encountered such an animal, especially with such posture and intellectual behaviour.

Quistis's heart now thumped heavily at every step the great creature took. Time went by slowly, so that even her eye lids took long to blink.

She sat there in the snow, empty minded, awaiting a first reaction from herself or from the panther. She was stuck, she was frozen. Her hands had gone white with the cold.

When finally the panther was about two feet away from her, she felt her arm twitch and was conscious of her strength. She could get up and run for itif she wanted to, though part of her wanted to stay right where she was and understand those, a primary instinct.

She bounced her hands on the cold ground and was able to get on her feet and jump up, but as she took a step backwards to balance herself, the creature made a swift move and now jumped up as well and with its heavy paws falling on Quistis chest, she took a step backward, shutting her eyes tight and making a silent squeak.

She felt something warm and strong grip around the back of her neck and now, crazy as it was she felt as though her lips were pressed against someone else's. She was being kissed and now she felt an arm going around her waist and creep up her back, pushing her towards the person that was there.

She could tell that this wasn't any beast as she felt long strong fingers caress her scalp and twirl her hair. It was a man. For a few moments, petrified, she stood passive. But then as she felt these lips hold hers between them and pull and grab furiously, greedy for love. She snapped out of the numbness and jerked, opening her eyes and seeing just a bush of hair covering a pair of shut eyes. She then gripped his arm and pushed him away from her and the kiss was broken.

Quistis's mouth dropped open in shock, catching breath as she stood staring at the man in front of her.

This man's faces looked rather confused, probably just a confused as her, maybe even more. His eyes widened, underlined beneath revealing his sleepless nights and his back curved, looking rather vulnerable…

**To be continued…**


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31 **

Selphie looked at Irvine without him being conscious of it and observed him attentively. With those dark shadows playing on his tough skin, she could see the sorrow in his blue eyes. He kneeled there next to his buddy, worry written all over his face.

She was sorry too. She had been stupid. In such times like these, she went and made things worse. She didn't even remember well why they were upset. After all, the silly one here was her, not him. She felt so stupid for fighting with him. She could really be a pain in the neck sometimes. Things could stay this way, she couldn't take it anymore, but her greatest worry was that he would neglect her for over reacting. Even though, she had to try. She knew now how much he really meant to her. She was constantly worried about him, what he was feeling, if he was hungry, tired. Sometimes she felt like holding his hand, like now, but it wouldn't be very suitable for they were upset with each other. If she had the nerve she'd go run up to him right at that moment and through her arms around him and smother him in love. Oh, she needed him, a lot actually. It didn't feel right when they were one against another. It didn't make sense.

She had to end this nonsense, it was uncalled for. It was her fault, anyway.

The young man who stood before Quistis, seemed lost and unconscious of what had just happened. He looked at her for the first time and his eyes widened. His clothes were torn and his hair tangled. He clapped his hand to his head not understanding what was going on, still struggling to catch his breath. He turned his back to her and slowly walked, limping back towards where he came from.

'…Ash!' Quistis finally said worried, running after him.

'Ash!' her voice went hollow with concern for he didn't look well at all.

She clutched his shoulder, forcing him to stop. He turned around.

'Ash?' she murmured, looking him in the eye and noticing something she had never seen before. The eyes the colour of amber, but his pupils were so dilated she could hardly notice their true colour. But these eyes weren't the ones she had seen before, these were wild, frightened as of a petrified beast.

Ash, stretched out his hand and glided his finger down her cheek lovingly and standing next to her intimately.

'What happened?' Quistis narrowed her eyes.

'I'm not who you think I am, Quistis... I'm sorry about that…kiss….I wasn't quite myself…' He explained in a murmur looking down as if he couldn't look her in the eye.

'I don't understand!' Quistis looked him in the eye, clutching his clothes.

'…there is no time to explain, Quistis…I just came to know how that friend of yours…is' he said, caressing her cheek.

'He's still unconscious. Nothing is certain…what will happen if he's not strong enough, Ash? Why can't he be the same!' Quistis had tears running down his face.

Ash put his arms around her tightly as he felt her hiccough on his chest.

'There's nothing you can do about it…' Ash murmured.

Quistis looked into his eyes once more and for a silent moment she let what her mind worked on slip out…

'What was that animal, Ash? Its eyes… were like I've never seen before…like a man trapped inside that creature's body…' Quistis looked at him, tears drying on her pale face.

'I'm not who you think I am…' Ash told her gravely.

'You lied to me…you don't spend your days working at home. You're greater…' Quistis almost whispered.

'What are you then?'

Ash's eyes went distant as he swerved his look from her.

'I'm not one or the other…' he muttered sadly.

Quistis didn't quite understand what he meant, but she looked at him with care.

'I once was in your friend's place…falling off the edge…not like all, I had a choice. I was never the same again. It was Hyne's will that I did not live as a Serpent but rather served her and so I became what I am…'

Quistis went silent as she started to understand what just had happened

'You mean…that black creature…it was you?' Quistis searched for the answer in his eyes.

Ash remained silent as he kept his eye on her.

'I don't belong to your world, Quistis…I'm not of one or the other. I'm in between…that's why I'll never be accepted by any society…' he said taking a deep breath.

'But I accept you…' Quistis murmured staring deep into his eyes and feeling what she had not felt before: a mix of fear, thrill and passion. A desire to belong to this person.

To this, Ash took her face in on hand and gently caressed her with his thumb.

And they stared at each other for a whole solid moment, where words weren't necessary.

Ash with his amber eyes reflected a moment of tranquillity into hers; giving her peace of mind, silence and comfort she had never felt before.

'I must go…' he whispered kissing her on her forehead.

Quistis's heart thumped so heavily that without being conscious of her movements she grabbed him by his sleeve.

'Stay…please…y-you can join us!' Quistis murmured.

'Oh I can't. Your friends wouldn't understand…' he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

'I've told them you saved my life, Ash. They will be glad to join you, I swear, I'll just tell them who you are and it will be ok!' Quistis tried to explain to him.

Ash took her face in his hands gently and stared at her.

'There's no time to explain anything. I really must go. I have something important to do.' He muttered staring into her eyes.

'Who are you?' she whispered staring back at him.

Ash kept silent with an expression in his eyes that revealed his anxiety in wanting to talk to her and explain, but there was no time at all. He had to leave soon.

'I'm going to pray to see you again…' he whispered emotionally in his accented English making Quistis shiver with pleasure by the warmth of his breath, closing her eyes slowly.

Ash caressed her face with his thumb and pressed his lips on hers gently.

'Until we meet again…' his hollow voice whispered in her ear.

Quistis felt her stomach tickle and remained with her eyes closed. She then felt his hands slide away and as she opened her eyes to see why he had drawn back, he had vanished.

Quistis felt a part of her go away. She felt something for this guy and it wasn't just a silly attraction. It was like she had lost a part of herself the moment his hands had been taken off her. There was something in him she recognised in herself as well. What it was, she didn't know. She didn't know what she felt right now. Seifer still held a strong place in her heart, but this man had touched her heart in the way she had only dreamed of all her life. Somehow, she knew this man was going to make a difference in her life, how she didn't know, but he certainly was very important to her.

Meanwhile in the cave, where everyone sat quietly, hoping Zell would be ok.

Suddenly Quistis came walking in, as white as a ghost as though made of ice.

Irvine immediately got and went up to her.

'Quistis, are you alright?' he put his hand on her shoulder worriedly.

'Yes, I'm fine. It's quite cold out there.' She tried to hide her sadness with a faked smile.

Irvine gave her a piercing look. He knew something was wrong, but her eyes told him, she didn't want to talk about it.

'Why don't you have some tea? Here…' he passed her the little bowl he was drinking from.

'Thanks' she took it gratefully and sipped it slowly feeling the warmth spread through her body.

Irvine glanced at Selphie and swerved his eyes away quickly.

Selphie had noticed and just this small gesture was enough to cause her a great hurt in her chest.

Irvine walked out of the cave.

A few minutes had past and Selphie trying to contain herself, found a great urge in her to run after him. Why was she holding back?

Selphie then not wasting one more minute thinking, she jumped up furiously and marched out of the cave.

When she reached the outside the clashing temperatures made her shiver. She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around searching for him. And when she finally spotted him, leaning against a tree a few steps away, back faced to her, she quietly approached him.

Irvine started to scratch his head casually and took out something from his pocket.

She then realised he had a cigarette in his mouth and was now lighting it.

Selphie had no idea Irvine used to smoke, at least with her he never used to.

Irvine gave a small choke as if he weren't used to it and then took a deep breath.

Selphie was now less than 3 steps away from him and he hadn't noticed her presence.

She then noticed his left hand that hung on his side while the other held the cigarette.

He gave a little cough and then with his free hand he passed his hand through his long hair.

Selphie then without thinking took his hand.

Irvine jerked to the warmth of her hand on his, curved his back as he chocked a little and taking a deep breath he turned around fright.

His eyes that once were widened now had a warm glow to them as he saw Selphie. His hair was a bit ruffled up and a long stream of smoke had just escaped his nose.

Selphie stared at him with guilt in her eyes about to burst into tears, still holding his hand.

'Selphie?' Irvine whispered as some smoke escape from his lips and the cigarette moved to his words.

Selphie remained silent, feeling her eyes liquefy.

Irvine immediately spat the cigarette out and pulled her towards him embracing her warmly.

She closed her eyes, letting the little tears fall as she felt those familiar strong arms wrap themselves around her lovingly and embraced him as well as she hiccoughed a little.

'…I'm sorry... .' she mumbled sniffing.

'Aww…don't be, baby. It's ok…Everything's alright. Please don't cry…shh…' he muttered to her holding her tightly and rocking her a little as one would do with a small child.

'Gosh, my head's spinning…' he said cheerfully.

'I-I never knew you used to smoke…did you know it's illegal in Garden?' she said.

'I used to smoke in the dorms…but that was before knowing you…seems I won't need to hide anymore, hey?' he smiled.

Selphie smiled back.

It was times like these people had to stick together for the worst. Felling resentful wouldn't help at this stage. Zell was at risk of never being the same again or actually dying. They didn't know what was best.

But the girl who was treating him had hope. Maybe he'd be lucky, maybe he'd be strong. She couldn't lose him.

The sun had gone down and another day had past. The gang was now all asleep in the cave. The girl slept at Zell's side in case he'd wake up.

Zell had laid there still for long as if frozen, even his breathing was weak, his chest hardly moved when he breathed.

But he wasn't all that still. In his mind he was exhausted, gasping tiredly, screaming for help, yelling in fury as the most terrifying images worked their way into his brain and wounded his mind.

The poison's effect was still working on him, for all these bad thoughts were work of the Serpents. All his comrades now prayed for was that he'd be strong enough to make it through this faze.

When the sun had finally risen, one by one the comrades who awake, having the first one been the girl of course.

She opened her eyes slowly as she felt the sun light come in through the cave and instinctively turned around to look at Zell. He was there in the same position she had left him last night, still as stone, pale, and thin and his brilliant tattoo still visible on the side of his sunken in cheek.

Without thinking she passed her hand gently on his face. Her indigo eyes now looked as if they were flooding with tears.

'So, err…what's your name dear?' a shallow voice asked her.

The girl looked up and saw Laguna.

'Cryo…' she smiled.

'Now that's a lovely name. Why are you crying my dear?' he whispered.

The girl shook her head whipping her tears away quickly with a smile on her face.

'I know you're doing your best…' Laguna smiled caressing her face gently with sympathy.

'This is my fault…' she murmured

'What! Don't you say that, girl!' Laguna smiled at her.

'I got him in this mess…I must take him out of it.' She muttered to herself.

She then got up and walked away.

It had been about a few minutes later that the whole gang had risen silently and kneeled around Zell who seemed to have regained his colour.

'How is he?' Squall asked Cryo who had her back turned to him while he fastened his Gunblade to his belt.

Cryo turned around slowly to face him and taking a deep breath before speaking to him she said:

'This procedure has phases, sir… It's my antidote against the Serpents poison…Zell might look calm and as if his unconscious of what is happening, but he's not. He can hear us, feel us next to him, but he can't move or speak. He's stuck in between, fighting at this very moment against the images and memories he most fears come to live. He's reliving everything again and more. He can feel everything he felt then and more. Pain, sadness, fury, strife, fear… that all runs in his veins now…and there's nothing we can do to help. He will only survive if he makes it through this phase. If his mind is strong enough…you can only wait for his recovery. So far, his body has recovered well since last night as he had hoped for, but there have been no signs of his inner strength yet…' Cryo explained with a shaking voice.

'His inner strength?' Squall asked her.

'Yes, his mind's capacity to make it through the poison's effects on him. Like the memories and the visions…' she explained.

'When he's through it, if he makes it…his mind will be brought back to his body and he will be safe…'

'Like his mind is trapped some place else?' Irvine intervened.

'Yes, that's it…it's an unknown place. Feared by those who have seen a tip of it. But as everyone can imagine, seeing a tip of it, isn't the same as being there…' Cryo looked down.

'The more we know about this, the creepier it gets…I can't imagine …He can't just…' Selphie thought out loud her eyes widening in shock.

Irvine put his arm around her comfortingly as soon as he understood she was disturbed.

'We won't be able to wait much longer, I'm afraid…we might have to leave him here.' Squall told his comrades.

'No way!' Irvine said.

'Guys, there's no time for us to wait for Zell's recovery. We must move soon. We've got to put an end to this or we might just risk carrying the weight of hating ourselves for letting Sarakman take over. If Zell can't come, we must go either way. We must fight. We are still a team, no matter what!' Squall said trying to reason with his comrades.

'…his right guys…' Quistis suddenly appeared into the circle.

Everyone's eyes pointed her direction.

'Time is a problem right now…we've left with very little of it right now. It isn't the time to make a fuss on Zell's absence on the journey to the base. This is a serious matter, guys. Think about it. It's time to move…we must leave Zell at rest and hope for his full recovery. It will be hard, but our bond is tough. We shall fight for him.' Quistis explained, standing next to Squall.

'Yeah…we'll kick those serpent's ass's! I'll get my revenge!' Irvine said through gritted teeth while Selphie watched him closely with worry and clutched her hand tightly around his arm.

'Good…We should probably start packing and preparing to leave…Irvine you should probably go fill the water deposits. And the rest of you, be sure to have yourselves well equipped and cured. I'll be with you right away.' Squall said seriously as his comrades split and went back to their belongings and started to pack and equip themselves.

'Rin…' Squall murmured at her and taking her arm in his hand as she walked away too.

Rinoa turned around surprised.

'I need to…I need to talk to you, if you don't mind…' he muttered, clearing his voice afterwards.

Squall looked a little nervous, but Rinoa thought he looked adorable and so caring.

She couldn't hide the little smile that grew on the corner of her mouth when their eyes met for the first time that day.

'Err…not here…' he said looking a bit uneasy. It was quite funny the way he looked so confident when giving orders and talking to his comrades as a Leader and then when it came to them he always looked so unsure of himself and uneasy.

Rinoa felt flattered that she altered his state of mind. It just proved to her that he really had strong feelings for her and couldn't quite deal with them yet, at least in front of the others, no.

Squall leaded her towards the steep elevation in the cave that winded up in a miniature waterfall and behind a great rock they stood.

'…what is it Squall?' Rinoa smiled.

Squall looked into her eyes again, but briefly for he was really quite nervous.

'…you remember what I told you, Rin?' he murmured gently.

Rinoa remained silent trying to make out what he was referring to.

'Cryo, the girl that's taking care of Zell...she promised she'd stay with him here until he was back.' Squall started.

'I know…' Rinoa said narrowing her eyes at him.

'Squall, what are you trying to tell me?' Rinoa asked him.

'I want you to stay with her here…' Squall finally said it, now placing his hands around her shoulders and looking at her anxiously.

A painful frown grew on Rinoa's face as she looked down with sadness.

'You know my reasons for wanting it this way, Rin…you agreed to stay behind and safe until I returned.' Squall murmured gently, looking at her gravely.

'Yes, I know…' Rinoa said quietly still not looking him in the eye.

'Tell me you will do as I asked you, Rin…tell me you won't contradict my decision on what's best for you…' he said in a hollow voice.

'You sound like my father…' she muttered.

Squall didn't expect to hear that, but could see how this really affected her and felt compassionate towards her.

'Well, I guess that means I love you very much, then…' he smiled trying to break the ice between them.

Rinoa immediately looked up at him with her eyes almost flooded. She threw her arms around his waist in a tight hug.

She started sobbing uncontrollably.

'Hey, hey…Rin, don't cry…' he whispered.

'I-I don't… want you to… leave me…' she hiccoughed.

'…I won't, Rin…' Squall tightened his embrace.

'Cryo's a nice girl. I'm sure you'll get a long with her.' Squall said now rubbing her head.

Rinoa just nodded.

They stood like that for a few moments, just enjoying that precious moment when everything seemed to be alright and normal again. But they knew that as soon as they had to let go, reality would smack them in the face again.

And when finally they parted from their sweet hug, Squall held her arms gently and watched her.

'Hey…' Squall murmured.

Rinoa looked up at him.

'Give me a smile…' he murmured.

Rinoa wiped her tears away quickly and gave him a little weak smile, trying her best not to burst into tears again.

Squall then put his hands around her silky heart shaped face and pressed his lips on hers gently. Rinoa closed her eyes as she felt him so close to her. But now he was moving away…she didn't want him to. Just a little longer! She thought. So she immediately hung her arms around his neck as she felt him slip away and as Squall surprised opened his eyes and stared straight into hers, she kissed him again scared that it would be the last one.

Squall not expecting it, didn't quite have time to react, for before he could even start enjoying that sweet kiss, she had moved away, stared at him into his eyes deeply and walked away slowly.

Squall felt his chest suddenly heavier than usual.

When everyone had packed up and was up and ready to go, they all gathered up next to the fire, taking a weird energy booster infusion for the journey. Everyone but Laguna.

'Where the hell is he?' Squall asked himself.

Squall looked around the cave looking for a sign of him and stopped to stare when he caught Laguna leaning against a rock and sipping his infusion slowly.

But Laguna felt Squall's eye watching him, so when he looked his way to confirm his suspicion, he looked back at Squall and lowered his head. Squall, not really understanding the meaning of this reaction, looked away again as if nothing had happened.

'Do you think we could talk before we leave?' asked a soft, gentle but determined voice.

Squall didn't turn his neck immediately. Instead he closed his blinked his eyes, realising now how tired he was and finally turned to face Laguna. He stared back at Laguna with a usual thoughtful frown on his face and as much as he despised the man in front of him after knowing he had been the cause of his homeless childhood and also because it made him become someone who wasn't himself, he had grown to work and collaborate with him. Not actually sympathising with him, but getting used to him being around.

Squall feared that this conversation might just be what he'd been trying to avoid for so long, but being arrogant wouldn't help. He also knew just like Rinoa had told him that it was a reality he couldn't escape from, though he preferred to avoid it and pretend they weren't related at all. But in these last weeks, Squall had grown, as much extraordinary it may seem. He had learned to deal with his problems and overcome his disturbing memories a little easier, not letting them interfere in his relationships and attitudes so much as they used to . This way his rage towards life would bit by bit disappear until he could live in peace with himself. Squall got up and followed Laguna outside with out a single word.

**To be continued…**


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

It was cold that morning, colder than usual and this whole situation just made things even less tolerable. But one had to be strong.

Laguna walked ahead of Squall not saying a word and at that moment Squall's head was so full of doubt and fears that this everyday conflict of denying his true identity was becoming a heavy wait on him. There was no doubt that Laguna was his true father, but Squall took this truth very hard. He was used to being alone all his life, no one to talk to, no one to trust, no one to care for. He had lived fearing abandonment from whoever came too close to him and that's why he preferred to live his life as lonely as possible. For he could not imagine going through such pain as he had when Ellone had disappeared and he was left to his own. That marked him deeply. But as his first mission took place, he was able to slowly trust the people around him and relate to them as friends or comrades. He had felt again what it was like to have friends and to be liked. But his life really gave a big turn when he found a special person. The one that had made him realise he was missing out on life. The one that showed him that he could love again, that he wasn't a selfish, cold, careless person like he had painted himself to be. He realised that in the years that he had built himself to a lonely wolf's image, he was dying inside in his miserable loneliness that everyone thought was what he was proud of.

But Laguna now was a different story. Squall had been in this man's shoes and lived his life. He knew his fears and his hopes and what he most wanted in life. He knew that Ellone and Raine held an irreplaceable place in his heart. And that things didn't quite turn out the way he hoped for. Laguna had a great responsibility in Esthar and he had to leave Raine. Only 17 years later had he realised what he had missed out on. Raine had had a child of his and Ellone were left alone with the baby when she passed away. Unfortunately, Laguna had not known any of this for his life was conditioned after that. He had no idea he had been a father. And now he was back, fighting side by side with his son who deep down felt betrayed by him, unable to forget what could have been if he had just stayed in Win Hill. And when the time came for Laguna to tell the truth to his son, Squall didn't want to know that he ever had a father. Laguna felt as him he were a shame to his own son and as his friends told him he decided to give him time and space for his ideas to settle down.

Now many days had gone by, Squall learned to cooperate with Laguna, not as in father and son, but more in comrade to comrade style. Laguna didn't mind at all, to the contrary, he found it as a great improvement in their relationship. The truth was that since Sarakman's plans had been revealed, Squall had not had the time to think about these issues and that was probably what helped his grudge against Laguna to smoothen out. Now he showed to signs of resentment or grudges, just a slight awkwardness when approached or talked to by him.

Squall had noticed Laguna's good will and patience with the whole gang and it pleased him in a certain way. His initial idea of Laguna was of a middle aged man who still thought he was 18 and that was utterly self-centred and irresponsible. Surprisingly in the past weeks, this image had changed a lot. Squall now acknowledged to himself that Laguna wasn't as futile as he had made him out to be in the begining. Laguna revealed to be a sensitive, courageous, hard-working, mature man who cared for the well being of everyone and in a certain way gave stability to the whole group. Deep down, Squall appreciated his effort besides denying that he kind of sympathised with the man. Squall's attitude towards him had changed in consequence. He didn't ignore, criticise, bring down or judge Laguna as once he felt like doing. He now treated him equally just like one of his comrades. Laguna had owned Squall's respect by giving Squall his own space and time to think. Quistis had been right. In a certain way, their relationship had improved from terrible to regular.

'By the way things are going…this battle isn't going to be as simple as I thought…'Laguna muttered leaning against a rock.

Squall was surprised as he realised that Laguna wasn't actually wanting to talk about their bond but most surprisingly about the present situation…

Squall kept silent for a while and sat down on a rock opposite Laguna, leaning his elbows on his knees.

'Zell will be furious when he finds out we left him here. I don't expect him to remain here when he wakes up. He'll most probably try and catch up with us.' Squall said.

'You're right, but it won't be as easy as he thinks…' Laguna chuckled.

Squall looked at Laguna wondering what he meant.

'That girl, Cryo…she's a determined little one. She won't make his life easy. She made it clear that she'd make him recover fully.' Laguna smiled.

'At least that…' Squall said.

'Well, Rinoa's told me she was staying here with Cryo until we returned, just like we planned. Boy, she's a strong little lady…a rare one.' Laguna thought out loud.

'I don't know if she'll cope though…I know she's scared...' Squall said.

'Oh, she will…if it's for you she will. I can see she loves you, son. It's not any love. The girl will do anything for you…but you must trust her strength.' Laguna said.

'I do trust her…I just…' Squall thought.

'I know you fear for her safety…but you've done your best do far…' Laguna said.

Squall lowered his head. Laguna hit the spot.

'It isn't safe anywhere…not here, not in Garden …' Squall murmured.

'You feel helpless…I know what it feels like. Been there myself countless times…'

Squall raised his brow and looked at Laguna.

'…especially when I had to leave Raine all by herself when Ellone was being persecuted…' Laguna murmured.

'What did you do?' Squall asked absentmindedly.

Laguna smiled at this question…

'I did what I thought was best…told her how much I… loved her, while she slept… and then I was off…little had I imagined it would be the last time I'd ever see her…' Laguna said with a grave tone to his voice, already hollow and sore.

'You just left…' Squall thought angrily.

'We were engaged before I left…we were to get married in August when the flowers blossomed like she used to say…and when I finally had left Ellone in the right hands, I was told that raine had passed away…just like that…gone…from then onward my life had lost all its meaning…Ellone was far away from me and Raine…she was dead and I couldn't do anything to have avoided it…I was alone.' Laguna said.

'Then you became President of Esthar…' Squall continued.

'Yeah, but that was long after Kiros and Ward saved me from myself…I think I would've been dead if they hadn't found me. They helped me start my life again…a hard time it was…' Laguna put his hands in his pants pockets thoughtful.

And there was a long silence between them. Squall stared at his gloved hands while images of his fathers past passed through his mind as if they came directly from Laguna's eyes.

'Then…of course…when I returned to Win Hill…16 years later…to where Raine and I had met for the first time…I saw the place I had asked her to marry me...looked the same as if not one day had passed. As if time had stopped there…and if she was still there…in everyone and everything…and now the flowers grew more abundantly. Even at people's doorsteps…'

'Why did you go back…?' Squall asked Laguna not daring to look at his father.

Laguna stared at Squall for a moment, feeling the angst in his tone of voice and the hidden pain.

'I don't know…' Laguna said.

Squall cracked his knuckles furiously and tightened his fist furiously.

'_You don't know! You left my mother alone to die with your child inside of her…you just left! And when you heard she had died you decided you'd be president? You just left your child orphan, fatherless with nothing in his name! You didn't come back for all those years, never!…not even to search for your own son and when you finally come back, you don't even know why you returned! You son of a….!'_ Squall's mind burst into a painful scream not even the creatures of the woods could hear. He felt the blood flow to his face, but Laguna wasn't aware of it…

'I guess I missed that place…it was like my home there… where I only had good memories and where had a family for the first time…where I dreamed of having my kids grow up…I guess that at that time I felt the need to go back after so long because I missed the feeling of home so much…I wanted to taste that sensation of peace and harmony again…and somehow the place had been calling me…so I came back.' Laguna explained gesturing with his hands.

Suddenly Squall got up and with two wide quick steps he was holding Laguna by his collar and looking him in the eye warningly.

'…And you suppose I'll just forget that the reason you came back wasn't the fact you had left a son there…you really believe I'll take that from you! (Squall shook his head slowly) You're wrong…you're so wrong…!' Squall hissed at his father through his teeth, jerking him by his clothes as he spoke. Squall gave Laguna a long mad stare eye-in-eye which made him feel vulnerable in the hands of his own son…

After that brief tense moment between the two of them, Squall dropped Laguna's collar roughly. Laguna surprised by this attitude of his son's, took deep sore breaths as he tried to rewind on which part of the conversation he failed. He had told everything the way it happened, but Squall didn't stay long enough to hear the rest, what really happened to Laguna…

Laguna clapped both his hands to the sides of his head in frustration, hating himself for not getting to the point and not explaining the real reason behind the separation between them.

Squall marched back into the cave.

'Guys…lets go! There's no more time to delay! Get your equipment and armour ready. We're off!' Squall said out loud to the gang.

Irvine and Selphie looked at each other surprised at Squall's sudden hurry.

'Squall? Is everything alright?' Quistis asked him.

Squall looked back at her with cold misty eyes and remained silent at her question.

'We could have been on our way already…there's no need for this. We mus go now…' Squall muttered.

Quistis stared at Squall's furious frown and stood still in wonder as he occupied himself gathering the backpacks and preparing his Gunblade.

And in a quick quarter of an hour the gang was ready to go. They walked out of contrasting warm cave onto the ice cold of the Forest grounds. Irvine, Quistis and Selphie said goodbye to Zell's limp form, giving him a pat on the chest or on his face.

Squall and Laguna waited outside, refusing to look at eachother and awaiting in complete silence for the others to come out.

'Please…be careful guys…' Rinoa said looking at her friends and staring for a long moment into Squall's frosty eyes. She gave each one of them a warm hug and when it came to Squall's turn, she took his hand discreetly and rubbed it gently as she stared into his eyes with care and worry.

Squall found himself incapable of looking into her eyes, he didn't know why, but he just couldn't. It was if a barrier would put itself in front of him, making him incapable of responding to her love and care.

Rinoa couldn't understand why he was being so distant with her on this last moment. She started to worry seriously. What was wrong with him? Was he ok? No he wasn't…His eyes revealed something frightening, something sad…painful.

Cryo walked up to Quistis and in a low tone of voice she whispered:

'Ash will be out there…when you need he will come. You just have to call him. My brother can hear you…you just have to reach out for him. Take this. Play it and he'll find you…'

Quistis took from Cryo, a thin wooden little flute that would fit perfectly in the grip of her hand. Cryo winked at her with her brilliant white teeth and indigo eyes.

Quistis nodded grateful.

'Good luck, my friends…' Cryo muttered to all of them.

Laguna gave her a friendly hug and rubbed her head gently in appreciation.

'I'll take good care of your friend, I promise. I'll do my best so he can return…' she muttered seriously looking at all of them with great trust determination.

'Have a safe journey…' she whispered as they now walked towards the depths of the woods.

'I'll be back…' Squall suddenly put his arms around Rinoa in a warm, strong embrace that burst from his cold attitude earlier on. And without even being conscious of it he kissed her neck gently just like the first time, took in a breath of her essence, turned around without looking at her and marched hastily towards the woods to try and catch up with the others…

Rinoa had a small tear forming in the corner of her eye.

_Help them…please…keep them safe…that's all I ask…_

The gang which now was reduced to only five people made their way through the dense woods, where the mists would start to rise until their waist and blurred most of their way.

Squall walked side by side with Quistis, Laguna in front and Selphie and Irvine embraced in complete silence the whole face. Every now and then squall would look at his campus to check if they headed the right way. Everything had been silent and they had been walking for hours through the cold forest as the morning sun would start to melt the little ice flakes that slept on the tree leaves.

The temperature had risen which was a good sign since they knew there was still a long way to go.

Quistis kept sticking her hand inside her waistcoat pocket, searching for the small little flute Cryo had given her.

This silence was so torturing to the point of forcing you to think of the things you less wanted to…

Quistis was confused. She knew what was going on inside her, but wouldn't dare to think about it until now….the truth about her feelings…

She couldn't stop thinking about Seifer, the man who had hurt her and at the same time awaken in her the bitter-sweet feelings of brute passion and physical hunger. She couldn't tell exactly what she felt about him. In the past days before his disappearance, she had grown the need to be by his side, something torturing that would drown her in a spiral of mixed emotions and physical needs. On the other hand, there was Ash…the mysterious man who had entered her life the moment Seifer had left her. The one who she grew to love in a matter of days…a strong feeling awoken up by him that night they hid away from the Serpents, when on a magical moment, Ash took the initiative to let go of his inner most feelings. Her heart had been stolen by him. It was as if they had known each other before, as if their spirits had been made to be as one. The kindness in his eyes like she had never seen before, the warmth and delicate touch he had. His hollow voice that comforted her and reassured her…Ash had provoked a mix of powerful feelings in her, including trust and respect…and the want to be by his side forever…as if they had been born for each other. There had to be a very strong spiritual link between them….something she hadn't felt before for any man….she could never compare what she felt for Ash to what she felt for Seifer…

Things with Seifer were different…he always had hated her and mistreated her. He had always done his best to bring her down and provoke her…She started to believe now that what she felt for him wasn't anything but a distorted physical attraction her body tricked her into, provoking the weirdest reactions in her…Seifer's brutality didn't attract her at all, but in the strangest way, she could sense in him affection and want…stronger than hurricane that would sweep her off her feet and into his arms, surrendering while her mind travelled far away and all she could feel was the animalistic impulses going through her veins.

Quistis was terribly confused. She had uncontrollable feelings for Seifer and a spiritual connection with Ash. She had no idea how she was going to face Seifer or Ash when this was over…if she made it.

Right now her body shivered to the thought of Seifer being in a dark cold place, tortured by whoever captured him that night. She could feel the fear in him somehow…she wished she could reach out to him in her mind, but she knew it was impossible.

'I'll be there soon…' she thought to herself.

Meanwhile in the hidden cave, Cryo sat all morning until the full sunrise next to her saviour, hopping he'd show sign of recovery. She ended up falling asleep next to him while Rinoa bathed herself in the warm water falls in the cave, trying to practise her new abilities.

She would try with force of her mind to take the molecules of water and make them weightless. Her performance was improving as she tried harder and harder to concentrate. She giggled as she managed to splash water around her, wishing Angelo would be there to keep her company. It was a pity he had stayed with her father, for now she had no limit-break. She missed her loyal friend badly. As happy memories of her childhood with her small puppy made their way into her mind, sad tears started to form in her eyes. She missed the days when she knew so little about the world and was so innocently happy.

As Cryo drifted into a light sleep while sitting loyally next to Zell, his mind far away as it was, fought bravely against the evil forces that tried their best to kill him spiritually, showing him his most feared memories and thoughts. Cruel, bloody images of the ones he loved most, the constant replaying of the saddest moments in his life, the pain he went through all his battles, the stabbing weakness, the overwhelming bleakness returned to him stronger than ever before, not allowing anything good to rise into his head…not a single happy thought.

Zell screamed as loud as he could as the most fearsome things would happen to him, until his lungs bled and his legs lost all their strength…

He couldn't stand anymore, he was too weak…everything he touched would die or break, nobody could help him. The world had turned against him as he tried to reach out for his friends they would collapse and die, the ground he walked would become infertile and all living beings would disappear at his touch…

'no…' he whispered to himself as he touched Quistis and she collapsed at his feet dead with her blue lifeless eyes wide open. He tried to touch her face, but as he did, he face started to bleed and his hands were filled with blood…

'NOOOOOO!' Zell cried as he took a step backwards and stumbled on his own feet and fell on his knees…

He tightened his head between his hands and shut his eyes, screaming and crying horrified…

Zell wanted to die…he killed everyone and everything…he was the cause for all the destruction in the world. His existence demanded everyone and everything's life…he couldn't take it…the pain and guilt were too strong in his chest.

The wind blew cold and violently like stabbing knives through his naked chest. The clouds would gather above him and become grey, and then a lightning bolt broke its way through, hitting the ground at his knees nearly striking him.

Zell felt his brain burned with all the hatred, pain, fear and guilt…he wished his death desperately. Zell's eyes half-shut, swollen and red stared into the skies wishing it would strike him and take his life away… he stood up, hoping to increase the probability of being hit…

It started to rain heavily. Big cold drops of water would pour down on him like glass splints. He gritted his teeth to the painful sensation and as he took one more step, he found him self two feet away from and edge that led all the way down to a rocky wild river. His bare feet were muddy from the rain and he'd easily slip and fall. He didn't care…that's what he wanted. He wanted to close his eyes forever. With all the strength he had, he lift one foot slowly towards the end of the cliff opened his arms and threw his head back to stare into the skies thankfully. He leaned his body front wards and closed his eyes as he let himself go.

Suddenly the rain stopped and he opened his eyes the moment he felt his body drifting away from the cliff and gravity pull on him. But something strange happened on that moment. He dropped a few feet but right then he sprang up into the skies unstoppable and he was now the highest he'd ever been far from the ground. His heart pounding to the velocity he was being pulled up. And as he slowed down unwillingly, he found the world beneath him and the whole universe.

Suddenly a sharp pain burst through his shoulder and he instinctively clutched it, realising then on that moment he'd been stabbed by a sharp object. His body curved and he howled in pain and he stared upwards into the infinity.

There was someone above him, drifting down slowly.

When the person was finally face to face with him, he couldn't tell who had stabbed him for the figure was cloaked and hidden under grey clothes. He saw its hand reach smoothly into its cloak and take something shiny out. Soon he felt a pain in his stomach, he had been stabbed once again…

Cryo woke up to the noise of Zell's accelerated breathing and gasps of pain. His eyes were shut tightly and his body was shaking with his arms paralysed on his sides. His mouth would open as if he were being suffocated with the pain.

Cryo grabbed Zell's shoulders, trying to hold him down, petrified she was loosing him.

'Zell…please…' she cried warm tears that rolled down her face and died on Zell's naked chest.

The person was throwing daggers into his chest and though they had pierced right through his flesh, he wouldn't bleed. And besides the overwhelming pain, he could taste the cruelness of blood in his mouth. His mouth would drop blood as well as his eyes.

'Urghhhh!' Zell tried to pull a dagger in his upper chest out, but it was too painful to bear.

Cryo now realised what was happening to his body. She saw the blood fall down his eyes and his mouth…

'No!' she yelled trying to clean him up with her hands panicking as the flow would get stronger and stronger.

Cryo hiccoughed loudly as the sadness in her heart became deeper with her incapacity to help Zell.

'No, no, no…please…don't do this to me!' she cried sadly.

She wrapped her arms around him and held him up, embracing him tightly while tears flooded her pretty face.

She took his hand in hers and held it tightly as she swung herself to the front and back, feeling the pain of helplessness and watching him die…

And on that moment, Zell saw the world beneath him crumble into a million peaces as if in slow motion and blinding darkness spread all the corners of the universe.

Then suddenly he could feel a small drops of warm liquid drop on him like rain. He could taste their saltines and they came down from the darkened heavens and he realised they were tears. Whose tears?

Then without him realising immediately, the daggers would fall out of his flesh into the void…and he was once again falling of the edge of the cliff just that now as his toes just left contact of the earth, two arms wrapped themselves around his chest…he opened his eyes and he found himself in a cave. Feeling his chest humid and warm, he looked down and saw a girl holding him tightly and crying loudly as if she he had died.

Zell was so weak he could hardly move his arms, but he made one extra effort to take one of the girl's dark brown curls between his fingers and taking a deep breath as he realised how tired he was…

The girl shivered slightly and slowly turned her face to look at him…

Her eyes glittered like the moonlight on the sea as she looked into his blue eyes covered in dry blood.

She let him down to rest his head on the ground. Zell couldn't wish for another view to wake up to…

The girl kneeled next to him stared into his liquid eyes and felt herself hypnotised by a feeling of unbreakable union. There were no words to be said as they looked at each other like they had in front of them the greatest wonder of the world.

Zell reached his long fingers to touch her face as her long wavy hair caressed his tattooed skin gently. She let him for the unknown feeling that attracted them on that intense moment was mutual…

The girl lowered her head down, obeying her feelings without resistance as if a strong force had taken over her. Eye in eye, heart beat to heart beat, their faces closed in so they could swallow each other's breaths and on the moment their lips scrapped past by almost to become the most wanting kiss, they heard footsteps… They parted abruptly and both of them stared at Rinoa who walked into their direction.

'Z-Zell!' Rinoa said in shock.

Rinoa sprinted to the both of them and kneeled next to him putting his face between her hands.

'Zell? Are you alright? Speak to me! Say something!' Rinoa panicked.

Zell's eyes widened in shock and he opened his mouth but words woulnd't come out…

'I…' Zell whispered looking puzzled.

Cryo stared at him with worry.

'Do you remember me? Rinoa? Zell?...are you ok? Do you remember anything?' Rinoa asked.

Zell opened his mouth once again to speak but he hardly could believe what was happening to him…

'I…I…' Zell's mouth moved almost mutely as his eye-balls rolled in their sockets and his head dropped unconscious again.

'Zell!' Rinoa started to panic even more now…

Cryo held her arm gently.

'He's ok…he made it! He's fine…he'll be ok…' Cryo and Rinoa hugged relieved.

'He's been through a lot…we must let him rest now. Thank Hyne…he made it…' Cryo's voice shivered with emotion.

Rinoa laughed happily as a tear fell from her eye and she looked at Cryo.

'Thank you…' she whispered still very emotional.

* * *

**Okey dokey! That took me long, didn't it! Well, I really apologise 4 the length of the story. Its complicated to just hurry through without giving proper meaning or explanations to things. At least that stands as a problem to me as so I'll just have to end the story in my own time… :O/ I know these parts don't have too much action, but the end will compensate these boring parts, I hope. Please review :)**

**Thanks mafgoldenheart for ur unconditional support. You're a true friend and I hope I can retribute u kindness :)Bjinhos, miga. **

**Thanks 4 reading... **


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